When Disaster Falls
by SanchZeOtaku
Summary: When Zoro spots a strange island that none of the arrows on Nami's log pose were pointing to, he merely thinks of it as a new adventure. What the crew discovers on the island is indeed an adventure. But one that none of them had expected, or wanted. What disaster do the straw hats face on this mysterious island, as they vie for survival? Only 'Time' will tell.
1. Chapter 1

A/n: Ok umm. This is like my first ever fan fic. So it might not be very good~

Also this is what I had a nightmare about. And my bestie said I should write it down. So that's what I did.

Oh and this is based on the story after the time skip.

N.B:

-san, -chan, -sama, -kun are honorifics used after ones name to indicate respect, love, closeness or admiration.

Sake: An alcoholic beverage.

Nakama: Means friend or companion or partner depending on the context.

Baby Den Den Mushis: The baby snails that are used for communication.

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Oda Eichirou and the world. Not mine whatsoever.

WHEN DISASTER FALLS.

CHAPTER 1

Zoro watched the seagulls through the window of his training room/Crow's nest, as they flew beside the Thousand Sunny. The ocean was calm and the weather was warm. A light breeze carried the smell of lunch to him. As he closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, he could hear Luffy screaming for food and Usopp and Chopper running after him to make sure he doesn't gobble everything up before they get their share. He sighed contentedly and was about to climb down the trap door that led to the deck when he saw a dark strip appear across the horizon. Smiling to himself he spoke loudly so everyone could hear him over the shouting.

"Land Ho!"

Zoro dropped down onto the deck as Luffy whipped passed him to the hull, followed by an over excited Chopper and a not so excited Usopp. Nami raised her hand to shield her eyes as she squinted into the distance.

"Hmm….."

"Is something wrong Nami?" Robin asked as she joined her by the rail.

"… Not really, considering this is the Grand Line. But…" She looked down at the log pose on her wrist and frowned at the three arrows that were pointing anywhere but at the island in front of them.

"Luffy~" She called, predicting her Captain's reaction before she even spoke. "That island isn't shown on the Log pose."

"Uwoo~! Then we HAVE to check it out!" Luffy yelled back throwing his hands in the air and jumping. Nami rolled her eyes and sighed as she climbed down to sit on the lawn deck.

"Why am I not surprised." She sipped her tea as Robin joined her and laughed at her statement.

"He really is way too childish isn't he." She stated, more than questioning, as she watched her Captain with amused eyes. Nami sighed as she watched Chopper and Luffy, arm in arm ,singing a song about a new adventure.

"Oi Nami!" Usopp said coming towards them with a pleading expression.

"Sorry Usopp but I agree with Luffy. The weather's perfect and after our last battle all I want is some peace and quiet." Nami said before Usopp could beg her to say otherwise.

"But we have all the peace and quiet you need right here!" Usopp whined as he plopped down beside her and picked up a glass of green liquid from the table.

"Do NOT touch that." Sanji said, kicking Usopp and offering Robin the drink.

"I made some fresh juice for you Robin Chwan~"

"Why thank you Sanji." Robin took the offered drink and sipped it, making a delighted sound at the minty taste.

Satisfied with her reaction Sanji turned towards Usopp and kept a mug of tea in front of him.

"You know better than to tell Nami san what to do you asshole. Besides we really need to stretch our legs a bit. That and our food supply is running out. So if you don't wanna starve till we reach the next island, you'll put on a brave face, like the 'man of the sea' you are." Usopp perked up at Sanji's statement and jumped up exclaiming-

"Of course! Usopp sama will never step down when there's an adventure awaiting him! OI LUFFY! Don't you dare leave the great Usopp sama out!" He screamed as he joined Luffy and Chopper in their celebration dance.

"Well, atleast we know that even after two years of being apart Usopp's simple mindedness will never change." Zoro said as he grabbed a bottle of Sake from the table and settled down for a nap.

"Don't fill your pitiful stomach with that just yet. Lunch is done." Sanji kicked Zoro, aiming for his face, but missed, as Zoro dodged. Grunting he put his bottle down close to him and raised his eyebrow at the Cook.

"Well where is it then Curly Brow?"

Sanji was about to retort when Luffy's stomach growled loudly and he fell over.

"Aa~h Sanji~ Food~ Im starving~!"

Sighing Sanji went towards the galley to get the lunch out.

The second all the food was laid, Luffy started digging in. Grabbing and stuffing his mouth.

"Oi Luffy! Leave us some food too!" Usopp complained grabbing as much meat he could and gulping it down before Luffy snatched it away. Chopper giggled and followed suit as Brook and Franky joined them.

"Is it ok to just leave the helm alone?" Robin asked as she held Luffy back with disembodied hands.

"Eh its fine. We're sailing straight towards the island anyway." Franky replied, tearing at a piece of meat.

Zoro watched silently as Nami hit Luffy for stealing Chopper's food and making him cry. He watched Franky and Luffy guffaw at one of Brook's 'skull jokes'. He smirked at Robin complimenting Sanji on his wonderful cooking skills, to which Sanji's eyes turned into hearts and his body became all squiggly. He sipped his Sake in content and looked towards the swiftly approaching island, not knowing that it would be the place where disaster would rip the crew apart.

~.~.~.~.~.~


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

"WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTU~RE!"

Luffy shrieked and jumped off the ship followed by Chopper and Zoro. Usopp clutched the side of the ship and put his hand over his heart.

"I think I'm getting the I-Can't-Get-On-Strange-Dangerous-Islands disease."

Sanji let out a puff of smoke and put his cigarette back in his mouth before kicking Usopp off. Usopp fell with a thud on his face and started shouting up at Sanji, who only shrugged and went back to offering Robin his hand so he can escort her onto the island. Brook got off behind them and looked over at Franky who was making sure the ship was properly anchored.

"Franky san are you sure you don't mind watching Sunny on your own?" he asked politely.

"Eh. Don't worry about it. I've got it under control" Franky said waving him off.

The Crew had docked at a small cove that Usopp had found while they were surveying the island. The cove opened out to a white, sandy beach which ran around the edge of the island. Right where the sand thinned, a forest started. The forest seemed to be thick and uninhabited. No one was sure whether there was any life on the island or not.

"Alright then." Nami placed her hands on her hips and looked around at her Nakama. "Sanji kun and Chopper will go look for supplies-" Sanji and Chopper saluted. "-Luffy, Usopp and Brook will go north and check out to see if there are any villages or people-" Brook tipped his hat, while Usopp grumbled about his incurable disease and Luffy shouted about an adventure. "-Me, Zoro and Robin will do the same going west-" Zoro grunted looking towards the forest longingly. Robin smiled and nodded. "-And Franky will take care of Sunny. Oh and just so you know, we've anchored south of the island. So Luffy-" She pinched his ear. "-ALL you have to do is keep going STRAIGHT. Ok?" She sighed as Luffy nodded vigorously. Nami gave Usopp and Brook a pleading look.

"Please keep him under control." They nodded, Brook excitedly twirling and Usopp looking towards the forest like it were his grave. Nami gave Usopp and Sanji baby Den Den Mushis.

"Ok so if either of you groups should find anything, let the rest of us know of your location so we can meet up. And if anything should happen-" She looked wearily at Usopp whose knees were shaking. "-Then let us know immediately." Nami called up to Franky.

"Franky! You can use the Sunny's den Den Mushi to contact us ok?" Franky yelled super and Nami turned to them once again.

"Ok! Lets go! Please be carful and Luffy, do NOT cause unnecessary commotion. Got it?"

Everyone nodded their consents and the respective groups started off in their respective dirctions.

-Luffy's Group –

"ADVENTURE, ADVENTURE. WE ARE ON AN ADVENTURE!"

Luffy sang as he swung from tree to tree.

"Oi LUFFY! Nami said to be careful and NOT to cause unnecessary commotion!" Usopp yelled to him as he walked around a huge root. He looked at Brook who was humming to himself and swinging his purple cane, which was actually a sword, and sighed.

"Brooooooook~ You tell him too!" He whined. Without looking back Brook called to Luffy.

"Luffy san! If you don't come walk with us I'm afraid I'll have to tell Sanji san not to give you dinner!"

That worked instantly, as Luffy swung himself off of a tree and landed in front of them with an 'Uff'.

Marching in place, as he waited for the skeleton and the sharp shooter to catch up, he called over his shoulder:

"Oi Usopp what do you think we'll find in this forest? Maybe huge bears! Or man eating squids! Or fire-breathing Dragons! Maybe even a Tyranosaurus Rex!" He slurped.

"Or an ordinary village, with ordinary people who live ordinary lives without any man-eating, fire-breathing dinosaurs." Usopp replied, pushing aside a hanging root.

"Buuuu~" Luffy pouted and jumped over a fallen tree.

"That aside Luffy san, aren't Squids supposed to be deep sea creatures?" Brook asked as he ducked to avoid hitting a low hanging branch.

"Eh~ Is that so?" Luffy dug his nose and walked ahead.

They had been walking for slightly over three hours, when Usopp heard buzzing sounds. He swung his head around, trying to identify the source of the sound, when Luffy screamed and fell to the ground from the tree he was perched on. Usopp and Brook ran over to Luffy, who was rolling on the ground, screaming incoherently and scratching his face. Usopp bent down beside him and stopped him. When he pulled Luffy's hands away to look at his face, his eyes bulged out at the sight. Luffy's face had completely swollen and was red. He looked like a tomato with hair. His lips were puffed and cracked and his eyes were forced shut due to the swelling. He was almost unrecognizable. Brook gasped at the state of his Captain and hurriedly looked at Usopp.

"Usopp san! What in the world happened?! It was barely a minute since he fell over!"

Usopp let go of the breath he was unconsciously holding and shakily drew another.

"…..un"

"Eh what was that Usopp sa-"

"RUN! WASPS! RUN FOR YOU LIIIIIVES!"

Usopp screamed and they both picked Luffy up from under his arms and ran as fast they could, dragging the tomato-faced man along with them.

Luffy mumbled something and Usopp yelled at him to shut up. But Luffy was insistently tugging on his pants.

"What is it Luffy?!" He shouted, glaring at Luffy, who pointed behind them. Looking over his shoulder, irritated, Usopp blanched. His eyes bulged out and snot hung from his nose, at the sight behind them.

"Uwah! Would you look at that! Their HUGE!" Brook exclaimed as he watched the huge swarm of human sized wasps chasing after them. Quickly snapping his head to the front Usopp drew a deep breath and screamed for his life.

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"

-Zoro's group-

Zoro tilted his head and stopped.

"Zoro?" Nami asked, as she came over to him and looked at him questioningly.

"Mmm. Nothing. I thought I heard Usopp screaming for a second there."

"Fufufu. You have quite a pair of ears if you did, Zoro." Robin said walking past the two of them. Nami rolled her eyes and followed Robin.

"Oh please. Even if you did, which is quite impossible, judging by the size of this forest, I assure you he is perfectly fine since Luffy and Brook are with him." Nami said as she skipped over a stray root.

Zoro shrugged and joined them as they walked towards a clearing Robin had seen using her 'hand-eyes'. It had been an hour and a half since they has split, when Robin had suddenly stopped and said she'd found a large clearing ahead. So they had followed her lead for another hour and a half and were almost at the clearing. Zoro pushed aside a bunch of huge leaves and walked over to where Robin and Nami were standing.

"What's going on? We haven't reached the clearing already have we?" he asked as he reached them. When he got no answer he looked at Nami with an irritated expression only to see her staring wide-eyed in front of her. Turning, he let out a low whistle at the sight in front of him.

Unlike Zoro's initial thought, they had indeed found the clearing. But it wasn't what any of them had expected. The clearing was a huge circular space that obviously was not formed naturally. All around the circumference was a tall stonewall. It was at least 20 meters high. But due to whatever reasons, which Robin mostly thought was a large fire or natural calamity, most of the wall had crumbled away. For instance the place where they were standing was open and there was no wall for atleast 10 feet on either side of them. Within the wall were ruins. Various paths or roads lead to the centre of the 'village'. Beside the path/road were several cottage like structures. They were quite small and had enough room for a family of four. Most of the houses were destroyed but some looked salvageable. There were also small circular structures, a few feet in height, that looked like wells. There were also benches and platforms around the village. In some places a shorter wall ran across the land. Like a kind of fence. And on them were some strange inscriptions. Robin was already kneeling in front of it studying the inscriptions carefully. Some places the ground was divided and some thing like a canal ran through it. Nami followed the canal and ended up in front of a big reservoir like structure.

She took a deep breath and called to Robin and Zoro. Zoro lazily appeared a few seconds later while Robin reluctantly left her spot by the wall and came to where Nami was standing. They stood on either side of her and looked up to where she was pointing. At that place, the outer wall was untouched and stood to its full height. At its base, right opposite where the canal started, a slight protrusion was built into a platform. On the platform was some kind of an idol surrounded by smaller bumps and lumps of rocks. At all four corners of the platform were pillars that looked like stands for offerings.

Above the Idol was another protrusion from the wall. The hole looked like a kind of outlet. Every few seconds, drops of water fell from the outlet onto the idol. But that wasn't what was intriguing. The most interesting thing was that the entire wall was carved with various inscriptions, figures, drawings, scales, weird inventions, sun dials, hour glasses, calendars and countless other things.

Robin breathed in through her mouth and climbed up onto the edge of the reservoir.

"…. Unbelievable." She whispered as her eyes skimmed over the surface of the wall. She walked on the edge until she reached the place where the edge met the wall and ran her hand over it. As she was observing the carvings, Nami bent down and picked up one of the flat round stones that lay at her feet. She threw it up and caught it, A strange light shining in her eyes.

Zoro by then had walked to the other edge of the reservoir and was seemingly interested in a picture of a pair of swords. There were several lines and arrows marked around them. His eyes followed one set of arrows that led to another picture of a sword. This sword seemed to be emitting some kind of electricity from it. He traced back to the original pair of swords and followed another set of arrows. This time it led to a sword that had swirly designs around it. Like it controlled water. Intrigued, he looked across the wall and counted exactly 11 swords, each having some kind of strange ability. He once again looked at the pair of swords in front of him and noticed some writing below them.

"Oi Robin. Come here and take a look at th-"

"I was surprised to see you so interested in these inscriptions so I came to take a look at them." Robin's voice said from beside him. Zoro yelped and looked at her wide eyed as she smiled back at him.

"Yes I have been here for quite some time now."

Grumbling about creepy women with dark hair and scary smiles, he walked over to Nami who was still inspecting the round rocks.

"Never seen you so interested in rocks before…." He said sitting down beside her. She raised an eyebrow at him and showed him one of the stones.

"These aren't just ANY rocks dumbo. These here are some variety of precious stones. See these cuts here? Its proof that these stones were cut and shaped." She said pocketing a few. When she saw Zoro's expression she rolled her eyes.

"What. These could probably some super rare gems that no one knew still exist. And if we were to sell them….." Her eyes turned into Belis as she clasped her hands and went 'kyaaa', thinking about all the money she would make. Sighing Zoro drew his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. He wondered if the others had had any luck with finding some village which actually had people in them. As he closed his one working eye, he heard Robin walk over to them and plop down next to him.

"I see you've found something interesting there Nami." She said as Nami began to excitedly show Robin her discovery. After Nami went back to cooing to her stones Robin looked at Zoro.

"You seem to have something in mind." She said. He opened his eye and looked up once again.

"… Has any one ever told you that your psychic nature is freaky?" He growled softly.

"Fufufufu. Well actually I'm just good at reading people." She said as she too tilted her head to look at the sky.

"What are you both doing?" Nami asked curiously after pocketing the last of the stones.

"…." Zoro squinted at the seagull he had been staring at. He was about to say something when Robin breathed in sharply. He closed his mouth realizing that Robin had seen it too. Blinking, Nami looked up. Not understanding why the two of them reacted like that she frowned and tried to find what was so interesting. Finally giving up she looked at Robin and pouted.

Smiling softly at Nami's expression Robin looked back up and pointed to the seagull they had been looking at.

"See that bird there Nami?" She asked. When Nami made a noise after finding it, Robin continued.

"Do you realize it hasn't moved in a while? Neither have the clouds. Or the moon." She said pointing each out. Nami frowned still not understanding what Robin's point was. Zoro growled in frustration and stood up. Dusting his long vest he looked at Nami.

"The bird, the clouds and the moon aren't moving. So what does that mean?" He asked her. Nami opened her mouth to snap at him when realization hit her. Her eyes slowly widened and her mouth formed an 'o'. She looked at Robin who gravely looked back at her. Letting out a shaky breath she stood up.

"…. We have to tell the others."

~.~.~.~.~.~


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

-Zoro's group-

Nami tapped her foot impatiently as the baby Den Den Mushi was silent. She had tried calling the others quite a few times already and hadn't been able to connect to anyone. Sighing in frustration, she walked back to where Robin and Zoro were sitting, talking quietly to each other. When she saw them she couldn't help but think they almost looked like a couple. Since they were quite alike. As she approached them, Zoro snapped at Robin and Robin giggled at him. Sighing, Nami slumped down in front of them. Zoro looked up at her with a questioning look.

"Well?" Nami shook her head and pulled her knees to her chest.

"No luck."

"Well if that's the case-" Zoro stood up and stretched. "-We're just gonna have to find them."

"Yeah. No. I'd rather we sit here than have YOU go look for them. There's no way you'd ever ACTUALLY find them." Nami said tucking her head between her knees. Zoro glowered at her and walked off. Robin laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke soothingly.

"Our best chance would be to go back to the Sunny and wait for them all to come to us." Nami nodded and stood up slowly. Looking at Robin's concerned face, she gave a small smile to reassure her and turned to follow Zoro.

Robin looked at Nami's retreating back and sighed heavily. Looking up one last time she thought to herself:

"What in the world have we gotten ourselves into now?"

-Luffy's group-

"Luffy will you please STOP MOVING?!" Usopp yelled at Luffy who clutched his stomach and wriggled again.

"But~ It hurts Usopp~!" He whined pitifully. Sighing Usopp dabbed another one of the boils on Luffy's arms that had popped.

"WHY does this ALWAYS happen to us?!" He said throwing his arms up. He snapped his head to the side as he heard the bushes rustle. He reached for Shin Kabuto, when Brook appeared. Usopp heaved another sigh and slumped his shoulders.

"It seems Luffy san's situation isn't getting any better." Brook stated as he knelt beside Luffy. Usopp shook his head and looked at Brook expectantly. Brook's boney shoulders sagged as he shook his head sadly.

"Still no luck. For some reason the baby Den Den mushi isn't working."

"Well that definitely isn't good." Usopp said, standing.

"If we don't get Luffy to Chopper as soon as possible we'll be in trouble." He took one last look at the sickly looking man and made his way toward the pile of branches he had gathered.

Usopp bent over them and was silently working for a few minutes. Finally he stood up and cracked his back. Brook called out to him.

"Usopp san? What is that?"

"Hehe~" Usopp grinned and turned around. With one hand on his hip, he pointed at himself with his thumb and proudly stated:

"With Usopp sama here, there's nothing to worry about!" He stood still expecting some reaction. But when he didn't get any, he drooped his shoulders and slunk over to them, dragging his 'invention' along.

"Luffy. You're going to have to move on to this here." Usopp said as he prodded his Captain with his foot.

"Whazza?" Luffy slurred, eyeing the thing behind Usopp. Usopp couldn't hide the pride in his voice as he explained.

"This, my simple minded friends, is a makeshift stretcher. Brook and I are gonna carry you back to the Sunny on it Luffy." He said picking the man's legs up. Brook made an 'o' with his mouth and helped Usopp lift Luffy and place him on the stretcher.

"Yosh. Off we go!" Usopp said as he lifted up the front of the stretcher. When he felt the other end rise, he started marching off.

"Umm. Usopp san?" He heard Brook call from the back.

"Mmm?"

"Are you sure this is the right direction?" Usopp stopped short causing the stretcher to bump into him, which caused both of them to loose balance and they toppled over, stretcher and all.

Usopp groaned as he sat up.

"Eh. Uh. Well. You see. I'm pretty sure we'll make it back if we go this way." Usopp said nervously as he picked up his end again.

"Is that so?" Brook said and followed suit. Usopp couldn't help but gulp as he nodded and they started marching once again.

-Sanji and Chopper-

It had already been around 5 hours since he and Chopper had left the Sunny. Sanji blew out a puff of smoke as he waited for Chopper to catch up. They had honestly done a good job of finding supplies. Initially Chopper would stop Sanji every time he picked a juicy looking fruit, saying it was a kind they'd never seen and could be poisonous. But eventually Sanji decided they'd just have to risk it. He had convinced Chopper that they'd make Luffy, who was immune to all poisons, try it and if he was alive by their next meal then it was perfectly safe to eat. Chopper had hesitantly agreed and they'd quickly made progress since then.

"Oi Chopper. Hurry up or I'll leave you behind." Sanji finally called, turning back to see what the hell was taking the little reindeer-human so long.

"Sanji…..?" Chopper's small voice called back to him. Sighing, Sanji walked towards his voice. Pushing past a few loose bushes, he found Chopper staring at something, unmoving.

"Oi Chopper!" Sanji called, irritation apparent in his voice.

"What the hell is taking you so lo-" His mouth dropped open and his cigarette fell out uselessly on the grassy ground.

"… What. The. HELL. Is. Going. On. Here?!" Sanji exclaimed as he gaped at the 'thing' in front of him.

No matter how he tried to convince himself that it was impossible, Chopper simply couldn't seem to draw to a conclusion. At first he thought he was simply dreaming. But seeing Sanji's reaction, it was obvious he wasn't. The little reindeer-man shrunk back to his original form, as he and Sanji stood in silence, letting everything sink in.

Sanji cursed as he picked his cigarette off the ground and plopped it in his mouth. Taking a long drag on it, he slowly exhaled.

"Well? What do you make of this Doctor Chopper?" He asked. In any other situation Chopper would have gotten all happy at being called 'Doctor' and pretended not to be as he called the other names. But currently, he was way too shocked to respond. So he merely gulped and shook his head.

"Is that so…" Sanji said as he breathed in again. He dropped his spent cigarette butt on the ground and smashed it with the toe of his shoe.

"Well we gotta report back to Nami san and Robin chwan about this." He said taking out the baby Den Den Mushi. After trying a few times, he swore and stuffed it back into his pocket. Chopper looked up at him, confused.

Sanji kicked a stone and looked up. Sighing he went back to staring at the current object of interest.

"So….. What exactly is the body of an Ammonite, which has been extinct for centuries, doing here?"

-Luffy's group-

Usopp huffed and panted as he pulled himself and Luffy's stretcher over another huge root.

"Usopp san. Maybe I should lead the way? You look like your about to drop dead and I don't think this is the right way." Brook called for the n-th time. Cussing under his breath, Usopp called back for the n-th time:

"No thanks Brook. Nothing is hard for the great Usopp sama." As he wheezed, and blinked out the sweat from his eyes, he saw a light ahead. It was a tiny point, but was more than enough to make usopp's exhaustion go away.

"Brook! Luffy! I think we made it!" He shouted. He heard sounds of joy from the other two and the trio steadily made they'r way towards the light.

An hour later, which now made it it almost 10 hours of being in the jungle, they finally reached the light. By then the swelling on Luffy's face had decreased making his face almost recognizable, the puss filled boils on his body had all popped, and his stomach ache had reduced, making Luffy moan about being extremely hungry every two seconds.

Usopp whooped as he put down Luffy's stretcher. He turned towards Brook who was helping the Straw hat Captain stand up and grinned broadly.

"I TOLD you we were going the right way!" He yelled and spun around. He began marching towards the bright light, Luffy and Brook close behind him.

"Now men! Let us march towards the world that leads to our victor…..y…." Usopp's voice died in his throat and his arm hung limply raised over his head. His pupils dilated as he stopped short and fell to his knees.

"Usopp?" Luffy's still sick and groggy voice voice called out of concern. But Usopp heard nothing as he stared ahead.

They had made it out and back to the Thousand Sunny just as Usopp had boasted. But what they didn't expect, was to see their beloved ship in chains, with a huge skull and crossbones drawn over it in red that looked like blood and their Cyborg Shipwright lying on the sand on his front, in what seemed like a pool of his own blood, with spikes impaling his back.

"…Franky?" Luffy weakly called as he fell on his knees beside Usopp, pulling Brook down with him.

"…. –at…. What in the world HAPPENED HERE?!" Usopp's strangled scream echoed in the eery silence. A sudden gust of wind carrying his voice far across the island.

-Zoro's group-

"And I'm telling you this is the right way!" Zoro screamed at Nami for the 10th time as the female navigator pointed out that they had already passed by a certain tree. Nami rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to retort when a sudden gust of wind blew by, causing her to loose her footing and bump into Robin.

"Oh sorry Robin. I didn't expe-" She was cut short by a piercing cry that followed. Nami's eyes grew wide as she broke out into a light sweat. Robin's expression became solemn as she visibly paled. The two women turned to Zoro who was looking into the distance.

"…..Usopp." He snapped his head towards the two of them, causing them to jump.

"We have to hurry up. Something's happened to Luffy and the others!" With that Zoro took off, with Nami saying he was going the wrong way and Robin creating arms to hold

him back.

-Sanji and Chopper-

Sanji had just sat down after handing Chopper a drink he'd made from one of the fruits that looked the least weird, when a strong wind caused his lighter to go out. Cursing his bad luck, he was about to re-light his 8th cigarette in the past hour, when he heard the blood curdling scream. His head snapped up, as a shiver ran down his spine. He slowly turned to Chopper as if to confirm hearing the scream, only to see the little doctor facing towards the direction of the Sunny and sniffing.

"Sanji. "He said slowly. Sanji stood up and crushed the cigarette into pulp.

"What do you smell Chopper?" The reindeer looked at him with eyes full of tears and scared shitless.

"Blood. Lots of blood. And if I'm not wrong, Luffy and the others are in grave danger."

~.~.~.~.~.~


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

N.B:

Kitetsu: One of Zoro's three swords. It is a Meitou [named sword] and formerly belonged to Ippon Matsu.

Nakama: Means friend or companion or partner depending on the context.

Sake: An alcoholic beverage.

Baratie: pronounced as Ba-ra-tee-eh. The restaurant that Sanji grew up in which belonged to his foster father, the pirate Zeff.

Going Merry: The crew's first ship before Thousand Sunny which was destroyed during the Water 7 arc.

-Zoro's group-

Nami and Zoro were still arguing as they broke through the last bit of the forest and into the cove where they'd docked the Sunny.

"And I keep telling you that if we had gone MY way, we would have reached ages ago!" Zoro yelled at Nami.

"And THAT'S why I keep saying that if we had, we would never have made it for a week at the minimum!" Nami argued back. They glared at each other and finally turned away together, 'hmph'ing at the same time. Nami bumped into Robin who was in front of her and had suddenly stopped and was completely unmoving.

"Robin?" Nami called as she bent sideways and looked up at her. "What's wrong? Why'd you suddenly stop?" That's when she noticed that the archeologist had gone completely pale. Nami touched her arm out of concern only to find her deathly cold. Shocked, the red head looked up to the dark haired woman's face, to see that her lips were trembling and her eyes were filled with tears.

Gasping Nami spun around, only to lose balance and almost fall over. Zoro caught her before she hit the sand. Forgetting that she was mad at him, she looked up and opened her mouth to say thank you, but froze. The look on Zoro's face was that of murder. It was like he'd kill any second without thinking twice about it. She stood up slowly and wiped a hand across her eyes, only to find them trembling and drenched with sweat. Not wanting to look up, but compelled to, she slowly moved her eyes to see the scene unfold in front of her in slow motion.

The Sunny was still anchored where they left it almost half a day ago. Except now she was covered in chains and had a big red skull and cross bones drawn on her. "Wait…. Is that…. Blood…?" She thought as she slowly looked sideways. Franky was lying on his belly, in front of the Sunny, in what looked like a huge pool of thick red liquid. Nami gulped and forced her eyes to move as she felt her body become paralyzed with shock and fear at what she was about to witness. Her mind screamed, telling her to stop. Telling her that she doesn't want to see anymore. But she refused the warning and continued to scan the scene.

Usopp was on his knees a few feet away and had the exact same expression as Robin. Brook was helping Chopper pull out the stakes in Franky's back. In front of them, by the side of Franky, Luffy was lying, completely covered up in bandages from head to toe. Except for his face. Which seemed to be 5 times its size and completely red and cracked. Just as she was wondering what happened to Sanji, he appeared out of Sunny's galley and jumped down with trays full of food.

Nami's mind was on over drive. It was like landing on this island was the biggest mistake they had possibly made. Bad things seemed to be happening one after the other. First, the apparent un-inhabitance of the island. Second, the shocking truth that the trio had found out. Third, the fact that when they landed, the Den Den mushis were working completely fine. But when they needed them the most, they completely shut down. Fourth, just when they thought things couldn't get worse, they heard Usopp's scream. Fifth, just when she thought that she was prepared for the worst, the worst hit her in the face, making her unable to breathe.

No. It was a mistake. She knew it. And the worst was, that she knew one other fact. That this mistake could not be undone.

Zoro couldn't believe what he was seeing. Everything seemed to have gone hay wire the second they had stepped on this island. Now everything was slowly coming back and hitting him hard. Seeing Franky, the man of steel, lying helplessly, almost dead. Seeing their unbeatable Captain completely bandaged, lying beside him. Seeing the broken looks on Robin, Usopp and Nami's faces, he couldn't even begin to imagine what the other three who were tending to Luffy and Franky were going through.

Zoro's emotions were under check. The shock had long passed. Now reality was biting back at him. And with the sting of reality, came another extreme emotion.

Fury.

A cold, raw emotion. One that belonged to the very first set of emotions that came with the creation of man. A primal instinct. That caused even a person on his death bed to do the damage he wants. All Zoro saw was red. His lust for blood was palpable. And his love for his Nakama drew his blood lust to its zenith.

For his Nakama he would kill. That much was clear to him and all others since the very beginning. And right now was one of those times. He wanted to do a number to those who had caused something like this to ever happen. Those who caused even someone as stoic as Robin to show so much pain and sadness on her face. The last time Robin had ever shown an emotion like that was when Luffy told her to live and burnt down the flag of the World Government for her. And he never meant for a repeat of that.

Yet there he was. Standing there, unmoving, unable to do anything more than watch as the crew's Doctor tried his best to bring them good news. He could give no words to ease their suffering. And even if he did, they would be naught but empty words. They had no truth. And even he knew that.

So he would do what he did best. He would cut down those who caused the need for such words in the first place. Seeing as how his Captain could barely open his mouth to eat the food he valued more than his life, Zoro decided once and for all. That if he were to ever leave this island. It would be either after he found every one of the scumbags who hurt his Nakama. Or he would leave as a corpse.

Zoro clutched the heel of Kitetsu, as rage radiated off of his body in waves, engulfing everything around him. He was just about to draw his sword out and march into the forest when he felt a small hand cover his own. Looking up he saw Nami smile at him and gently shake her head. He sheathed his sword and watched as Nami slowly let go and stepped back. She wrapped her arms around her body, as if trying to shield herself from everything. He watched as she bit her lip trying to stop the tears from overflowing and spilling down her cheeks.

Before he knew it, he had her wrapped in his arms. Gently stroking her head as she uncontrollably shook and sobbed into his shoulder. He sighed internally and opened his one good eye to find Robin genuinely smiling at his simple yet comforting gesture. For the first time in his life, he felt his cheeks heating up. He stretched out his other arm which wasn't holding Nami and registered the look of surprise on Robin's face.

He couldn't help but smirk at her. She slowly walked towards him and let him wrap her awkwardly in half a hug. Nami looked at Robin and wrapped her free arm around her. The two girls sobbed into Zoro's chest. As he held them and let them cry themselves dry, Zoro's mind wandered. With all the mess in his head, one particular thought came to the forefront. He briefly wondered when they would be discussing about their findings. IF they were to discuss anything at all.

Usopp had never felt so cold before.

Not when he watched the pirate Kuro attack his home. Not when he found out Going Merry would die. Not when Luffy yelled at him to leave. Not when he was separated from his Nakama and ended up in a carnivorous island. Not even when he read about the death of Portgas. D. Ace in the paper and felt his heart clench for Luffy.

No. He had never felt so utterly helpless and vulnerable before. Seeing Franky impaled and lying there on the brink of death, shook Usopp up right to the depths of his soul. He barely heard Luffy screaming out Franky's name, or Brook trying to calm him down. He barely heard Chopper and Sanji appearing out of the forest, with Chopper shouting at Luffy to stop moving and brook to get his emergency kit from the Sunny. He barely heard Sanji ask him if he were ok. He barely registered Nami, Zoro and Robin exiting the forest. He didn't realize that Zoro had lit a fire and Sanji had moved Usopp close to it. Nor did he feel the warm blanket that Nami covered his shoulders with as he sat shivering in the cold.

The Soup that Sanji put in his hands was tasteless. And he knew this had nothing to do with Sanji's excellent cooking. He watched as Nami and Robin tried to slowly feed Luffy soup and juice without hurting him. He could hear Chopper instructing Zoro and Brook to bring Franky and Chopper's equipment closer to the fire. Even when Chopper sat down with a small smile at everyone he couldn't feel a bit of joy. Not even when he saw the monitor connected to Franky's chest showing a steady heart beat.

Usopp's mind had gone on over drive and then completely shut down. At one point of time he was so cold he barely felt his limbs. He no longer knew when to blink or when to breathe. Soon the flames in front of him started to multiply and blur. He felt something scorching hot fall down his face and realized it was his tears. He felt someone's warm arms wrap him into a hug. He felt the smell of fresh sea water and tangerines.

"Nami…." He uttered as he felt blackness over take him.

Sanji watched as Nami left Luffy's side with a gasp and run to Usopp. When she saw the tears flow down his face, she cradled him in her arms and spoke soothing words to him. Sanji heard Usopp mumble something before he collapsed. It was the way everyone around him reacted to Usopp falling unconscious that brought him to reality.

He held the bowl that Nami had thrust into his arms before running to Usopp. He felt the spoon thud against it as Robin rushed over to where Nami was yelling frantically. He watched Brook and Zoro hovering behind them as Chopper ordered Nami to bring Usopp closer to the fire and assured the rest that he had merely collapsed from physical and mental fatigue.

He watched as gradually everyone calmed down and took their respective places around the fire. Chopper was constantly by Franky's side. Every few minutes he'd check on Usopp who lay on Nami's lap beside him. Brook was humming a silent song that Robin had her eyes shut and was listening to. Zoro sat a little further away from the rest. A bottle of Sake in one hand and his other hand placed on his swords.

"Look like this as an adventure gone wrong huh?" Sanji jerked up at the sound of Luffy's voice. He turned slowly to look into his Captain's wide eyes. Once he got his erratic breathing under control, he replied.

"…..Yeah. An adventure gone bad…." He watched as Luffy gave him a skeptical look and went back to slurping his soup. It was one of those extremely rare times when Luffy wasn't able to wolf down his food. And Sanji wasn't in the mood to enjoy it. He sighed and stuck another cigarette in his mouth. As he lit it, Luffy spoke again.

"Your smoking a lot of those aren't you."

He felt the light accusatory tone in the other man's voice as he said it. Sanji exhaled slowly and chose to ignore the statement. Luffy made a face and scooted over to Zoro whining about how Sanji didn't care about sick people one bit.

Sanji rolled his eyes and flopped back onto the sand. He stared up at the sky sprinkled with stars. He used to do this whenever he felt the pressure on the Baratie. Lay back and watch the countless stars twinkling in the sky. Sanji frowned. He replayed that thought. Lay back and watch the countless stars twinkling in the sky. Countless stars twinkling. Stars do twinkle right? He squinted and tried to see the stars twinkling. But no matter how hard he squinted, he simply could not see them twinkling. They just looked like dots of light. Unmoving. He exhaled once again and thought out loud.

"….Is it just me?"

"No."

Sanji yelped and jumped back. He stared wide-eyed at Robin who looked equally surprised at Sanji's reaction. Keeping a hand over his frantic heart he blushed slightly and apologized.

"Im so sorry Robin chan! I didn't hear you!"

"Fufufu. That seems to be happening quite a lot today."

Robin smiled at Sanji's confused expression and got up. Beckoning him towards the circle, she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. All heads except Franky's turned towards her as she began speaking. Even Usopp sat up to listen.

"I know that we have gone through a lot today. And it still weighs heavily on our hearts and minds. But for that very reason I found this the right time to bring this up." As she spoke she took her spot next to Nami who was wearing her best poker face.

"Nami, if you will?" Nami nodded and pursed her lips. She drew a deep breath and spoke loud and clear.

"…"

The minute she finished speaking, a hush fell over the circle. In less than a minute there were confused murmurs and angry shouts from Luffy. Zoro sighed and banged his Sake bottle on a piece of wood. Everyone turned to look at him. And Zoro looked back evenly at the three pairs of confused eyes, two pairs of tired eyes and two pairs of solemn eyes.

He carefully waited for a reaction. And soon he got one.

"What did Nami just say…?" Usopp asked. Drawing a deep breath, Zoro repeated the navigator's words slowly and carefully.

"This island doesn't exist."

~.~.~.~.~.~


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Sanji placed another cigarette in his mouth and lit it as he watched everyone's reactions. Usopp was looking at Zoro like he had grown another head. Brook and Chopper just looked confused. Luffy couldn't care less as he scarfed down the food. Nami and Robin just looked tired.

Sanji wasn't as surprised. He'd pretty much figured something along the same lines. When Zoro looked at him expectantly, Sanji slowly exhaled and started to relate what he and Chopper had found. By the end of his tale, with occasional information from Chopper, the rest of the crew were once again thrown into silence. Even Luffy stopped eating long enough to listen.

Robin looked intrigued. Nami made a face. Brook exclaimed his usual 'yohohoho' albeit, in a rather shaky voice. Zoro looked at Chopper as if to confirm whether it were true, to which the little doctor nodded. Usopp had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"So… This Ammo thing…. Is like an ancient gun powder?"

Zoro spat out the Sake he had just sipped and guffawed loudly. Usopp merely gave him a confused glare. Sanji sighed and explained.

"No you daft fool. It's a squid-snail-deep-sea-creature."

At that Luffy perked up.

"So we can eat it?!" He asked excitedly. Everyone eyed him wearily before Sanji turned back to the topic at hand.

"So Robin chan. Tell us more about what you meant by 'this island doesn't exist'."

Robin nodded and began.

"This island, as Zoro and Nami said, does indeed not exist in the world we know. Proof to that are the stars that Sanji found unmoving and the clouds and birds that we found to be stationary earlier on. Which means, in simpler words, this island exists in some sort of bubble, and anything beyond it, is stationary."

"So…. Its like an inter-dimensional space…?" Sanji asked, inhaling slowly. Robin raised a finger towards him.

"Exactly. This island, for whatever reasons, has an invisible boundary, or as you said, it is part of an inter dimensional space."

"I don't understand one thing though." Nami said hesitantly.

"If this island belonged to a completely separate dimension itself, then how come it looks no different than any other island that belongs to our world?" Heads turned towards her as they thought out this new piece of information.

"It might be true that this island does not belong to the world we know." She continued. "Which means it could belong to the world before we knew it….." Sanji's eyes widened as he realized the truth in what Nami had said.

"So your saying, Nami san. That this island belongs to our world…. But doesn't belong to our world?"

Nami slowly nodded. Zoro closed his one good eye and seemed to be deep in thought. Robin too seemed to agree with this theory.

Even though what the female navigator had said made absolutely no sense, It made perfect sense. Sanji smashed the spent cigarette into a rock beside him.

"So? What does that mean exactly? This island exists in some sort of inter-dimensional space that's actually connected to , and was part of our world?"

"Well…" Nami started. "Not exactly an inter-dimensional space. But more like a…."

"… Time warp." Zoro finished for her.

Nami frowned thoughtfully and nodded.

"Yes. A time warp seems to make perfect sense! After all, since this is the New World and all, its perfectly understandable for there to be an island that's actually warped! RIGHT?!" Usopp shouted, exasperated with the whole ordeal.

"Oi Usopp. There's no need to shout." Luffy said softly. Usopp mumbled an apology and continued staring at the fire.

"But I have to agree." Chopper's small voice called from the edge of the circle. His face was thrown into shadow, as he was just out of reach of the fire's light.

"I mean. A time warp would explain the Ammonite Sanji and I found. Or the huge insects that Luffy and the others found. Even these strange fruits." He said, holding up half a purple fruit with yellow spots.

"That almost looks like one of the Demon Fruits." Nami mumbled.

"But the ruins we found-" Zoro said. "-they might have belonged to another time. Or they might just be what they are. Ruins." He looked at Robin who had silently been listening to everyone's thoughts. She nodded slightly.

"Well actually, I checked that out the second we found that wall full of inscriptions. The writings and various other things suggested that that village was well over 7 centuries old." She said as she watched the flames flicker and dance.

"That means-" She was cut off by Zoro.

"-That the village never belonged in the middle of that forest in the first place." He finished.

"So your saying that this village you found, in the center of the forest, was PLACED there?" Brook finally spoke.

"Yes." Robin agreed. "It was most definitely placed there. By someone-" She looked up, The flames reflected in her bottomless eyes, giving her an eerie aura. "-or someTHING." She said in a low voice.

Usopp gulped and even Nami wrapped the blanket tightly around her. Robin had closed her eyes and gently laughed, trying to ease the tension, as another strong wind blew by, almost putting out the fire. They watched as the wind caught the waves, causing the Sunny to bob up and down. Zoro let out a low whistle through clenched teeth and Brook laughed nervously. They all turned away from the cold, blackness and towards the warm flames that crackled happily. Chopper let out a relieved sigh and said shakily.

"Looks like everything's getting under our skin huh?" The others laughed softly and voiced their agreements. Sanji looked at Luffy who hadn't spoken in a while and was about to question his sudden quietness when he noticed the look in his Captain's eyes.

Luffy was crouched low, on his haunches, as his wide eyes darted back and forth between the edge of the forest and them. No one else seemed to have noticed the black haired man's strange behavior. Sanji breathed slowly, his blood running cold as he felt a shiver run down his spine. Something was about to happen. Something big. He opened his mouth to warn the others, when Luffy sprung up and smashed Usopp's face into the sand. Usopp spluttered for a few seconds before spinning to glare at his Captain with wide, angry eyes.

"Oi Luffy! Right now isn't the time to be funn-" The sniper was cut off as an arrow zoomed past him, exactly where his head had been a few seconds ago, and stuck to the side of Sunny. Usopp paled and gulped.

Luffy jumped up snapped another arrow that was aimed at Brook. The skeleton was rooted to the spot by shock and fear. Luffy landed on the balls of his feet and crouched low, his arms stretched out and back, on either side of him, like a leopard about to attack its prey. He bared his teeth and growled.

"They're here."

~.~.~.~.~.~


	6. Chapter 6

N.B:

Shin Kabuto: the newest version of Usopp's sling shot like weapon-Kabuto.

Clima tact: Nami's weapon that has the ability to control weather by using various attacks.

Emir: Also said as Amir, means chieftain or commander.

Yosh: A way of saying yes or alright, depending on the context. Also said as a sign of determination.

Re-cap:

_Luffy sprung up and smashed Usopp's face into the sand. Usopp spluttered for a few seconds before spinning to glare at his Captain with wide, angry eyes._

"_Oi Luffy! Right now isn't the time to be funn-" The sniper was cut off as an arrow zoomed past him, exactly where his head had been a few seconds ago, and stuck to the side of Sunny. Usopp paled and gulped._

_Luffy jumped up snapped another arrow that was aimed at Brook. The skeleton was rooted to the spot by shock and fear. Luffy landed on the balls of his feet and crouched low, his arms stretched out and back, on either side of him, like a leopard about to attack its prey. He bared his teeth and growled._

"_They're here."_

CHAPTER 6

Zoro, who was closest to the forest, sprang to his feet, his hands clasping his swords, ready to draw them out. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sanji position himself in between the forest and the crew. Brook joined Sanji as Chopper transformed and stood close to Franky's unconscious body. Robin stood on the other side of Franky, her arms crossed and body, tensed. Nami and Usopp were standing in front of the trio, both trembling ever so slightly as they waited for whatever it was, to appear out of the forest.

Zoro heard Luffy stop next to him. He could feel the silent rage of his Captain engulf him as Luffy pulled on his Straw hat. Taking another step in front, Luffy called out loudly, his voice echoing in the stillness of the night.

"Who goes there? Show yourself." It was merely a statement. But the power of his voice made it sound like a threat.

A minute passed. Then another. Zoro felt a bead of sweat slip from his forehead, down to his chin. Then everything happened in slow motion.

Just as the bead of sweat fell off of Zoro's chin and splashed onto the sand, the bushes in front of them rustled and hooded figures appeared. He hissed softly as he clasped his swords tighter. The hooded figures walked slowly into the clearing and formed a line. The two in the middle stepped back and bowed, as though waiting for someone to appear. And someone did appear. Zoro heard the soft crunch-crunch of the sand as whoever it was stepped out of the forest and towards them. Zoro grit his teeth and prepared to strike at any moment.

The figure walked ahead of the line of hooded ones and stopped a mere few feet away. The person/creature was shrouded in darkness as he/it stood just beyond the reach of the fire's light. Zoro could feel the pressure of the atmosphere as whoever it was took another step out of the darkness and into their territory. He saw Luffy move to stand directly opposite of the newcomer. Luffy's hands were clenched into tight fists as he stood waiting for the intruder to show himself.

As they watched, a pair of long feet appeared in the light. Followed by it were two stick thin legs and a, just as thin, torso. Finally the man's head appeared. He was tall, much more than Zoro and Luffy, his height rivaling that of Brook's. The man was wearing a queer outfit that consisted of a tight black jumpsuit, complete with a gold belt, cuffs and gold accents. The man's head was half covered by a weird mask, which seemed to have a pair of horns on it, that looked like a French gentleman's upturned mustache. To finish off the outfit, was a black cloak that pooled around his feet.

Luffy tensed ever so slightly and opened his mouth:

"Who are you?"

A simple question. Yet the density of it hung heavily over the people present there. The question that would hold the answer to several more. The question that would decide their destiny. The question that would either lead them to some answers or more unanswered questions. Everyone waited with bated breath as the strange newcomer opened his mouth.

"Aaaah…." Zoro bent his knees, standing in his battle stance. Sanji tapped the toe of his left shoe on the sandy ground. Brooke clutched his cane by his side. Usopp tightened his grip on Shin Kabuto. Nami reached for her Clima Tact. Robin and Chopper stood in front of Franky.

"…..chooooo!" Luffy barely flinched at the powerful sneeze, that pushed Zoro back a few inches, caused Sanji to dig his feet in the ground, almost blew Brook away and nearly knocked the others out.

The man sniffled and rubbed a long finger under his nose.

"Quite impressive." He exclaimed, rolling the 'R' and hissing the 'S's.

"Just what I would expect from a powerful crew as yourselves." Zoro was surprised at the polite manner in which he was speaking. If he wasn't dressed up like a villain from a children's novel, Zoro could almost see him as a gentleman. Luffy seemed unaffected by any of this as he repeated his previous question:

"Who are you?"

The man gave a small smile before replying.

"Impatient are we not? Well I guess it has been awfully rude of me for not introducing myself." He bowed slightly and said.

"My name would be Sir Francis Leonidas Cart-emir. But you may address me as Sir Francis or simply as Emir." He said sniffing as he looked at Luffy.

"… And are you the one who attacked my Nakama?" Luffy asked. Still using the same deathly calm tone of voice.

"Eh? Your Nakama?" Emir looked across the fire and his eyes landed on Franky who was attached to Chopper's make shift life support system.

"You mean the Cyborg dude? Oh yes, he put on quite a show really. I was indeed quite impressed." Emir replied as he sniffed again.

Luffy unclenched and re-clenched his fist.

"And? Was it you who hurt him and destroyed Sunny?"

"Oh no no no. You see, some one of my caliber would have no interest in something as childish as trashing your-" He waved his hand at Sunny. "-ship. But yes I did indeed beat up your unconscious friend there. Like I said he really did put up quite a fight. But of course he was no match for m-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Luffy's fist had connected with Emir's face, throwing the man off his feet and into a couple of trees.

Zoro relaxed his stance slightly. Luffy's punch seemed to have drained the initial pressure of the situation. Sanji walked up and stood beside Zoro.

"And this guy beat Franky up?" Sanji asked exhaling a puff of smoke. Zoro merely glanced at him.

"Don't underestimate your enemy. That's one of the first and fore most lessons taught to a swordsman. That mustache guy just wasn't expecting Luffy's punch that's all."

Sanji raised his eyebrow at Zoro.

"Mustache guy…..?" The swordsman shrugged.

"That thing on his head looks like a mustache."

Sanji couldn't help but smirk at Zoro's simple mindedness.

Both of them jumped when Luffy breathed out beside them. They stared wide-eyed at him as he rotated his arm, clasping his shoulder.

"You think I punched him too hard?"

"Oi Luffy. When the hell did you get here?! Besides that-" Zoro turned to where the strange costume guy had landed. "-That guy doesn't seem to be coming out any time soon."

"Oi. Weren't there a bunch of hooded clowns right there?" Sanji asked, motioning towards the vacant space where the hooded figures had been a minute ago. Luffy merely shrugged and started walking back.

"Maybe when they saw their boss get beaten up they ran for it."

Zoro and Sanji looked at each other, a silent communication passing between them. Then turning around, they followed their captain back to where the others were. Usopp and Nami had collapsed next to the fire. Brook was lying spread-eagled beside them. Even Robin and Chopper had sat down, leaning against Franky's makeshift stretcher.

"Aa~ah. What the hell was up with that weirdo?" Usopp groaned as he tried to push Nami off of him.

"I know right. Who even wears jumpsuits these days?!" Nami said, finally moving off Usopp and flopping down beside Brook.

"Things seem to be happening one after the other to us don't they?" Robin asked as she smiled tiredly.

Luffy cracked his knuckles and bent his head from side to side.

"Yosh. I think we've had enough for one day." He looked around at the others. "You guys go to sleep." When Zoro made a motion of sitting down to take the firs watch, Luffy put a hand on his shoulder n nodded slightly.

"You'll need all the rest you can get. Its not gonna be long before that mustache dude comes back with his friends. I'll take the first watch." Zoro smiled at Luffy's usage of the nickname he had given the weird man. He nodded and made himself comfortable.

Sanji leaned against a rock as he snuffed out his cigarette and got ready to get some well deserved rest. With a final look at his captain who was sitting with his arms crossed, facing the forest, Sanji fell into a restless sleep.

~.~.~.~.~.~


	7. Chapter 7

A/n:

Senchou: means Captain. I just used the Japanese word here 'cause I thought it sounded cooler :3

CHAPTER 7

_The ground shook and cracked as the reindeer-man ran across the shifting earth. Behind him the ground split and flames shot out through the cracks. He could see Nami a little further away, clutching her bleeding arm, her face contorted in pain. Usopp and Brook stood on either side of her, trying to keep the flames at bay. He opened his mouth to call to them, when the ground below him fell apart. Before he knew it, he was plunging towards the flames of hell. The last word that came out of his mouth, was a desperate plea for help._

"_Luffy…!"_

"-pper! Chopper!" Some one yelled as they shook him awake. Chopper frowned and tried to bat away the hands. He slowly opened his eyes to see a worried Luffy leaning over him.

"Luffy, you saved me." The little doctor said happily. Luffy raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Eh?"

"You were having a nightmare, so I came to wake you when you suddenly screamed my name." Luffy explained. Chopper sat up and scanned his surroundings. Letting out a sigh of relief, he smiled at the seven pairs of worried eyes looking at him.

"Don't worry you guys. I'm fine!" He said, trying to convince himself more than the others.

The crew nodded and went back to whatever they were doing. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Chopper went over to Franky so see how the Shipwright was doing. Franky's state had stabilized overnight and chopper smiled in relief. As he began the process of re-bandaging his patient, he heard a groan. Snapping his head up, Chopper's eyes widened as he watched Franky slowly blink and look around in confusion.

Chopper whooped excitedly, causing the others to once again stop what they were doing and eye the small reindeer-man skeptically.

"He's awake you guys! Franky's awake!" Chopper screamed as he climbed onto the stretcher and started checking Franky's heart beat with his small stethoscope. This news obviously lightened everyone's moods. Luffy laughed in delight, as he ran over to them. Usopp and Brook stopped working on Usopp's new 'invention' and hurried behind Luffy. Robin kept her unfinished drink down, on her personal table and stood up to join them. Nami and Sanji happily walked over, with Nami yelling at the boys to zip it and Sanji asking if he should cook a celebration meal. Zoro stood aside and watched the others talk and shout at the same time, as they surrounded Franky who had successfully managed to sit up with a little help. Zoro smiled at the confused and slightly irritated expression the Cyborg had on his face, as he held his huge hands up, trying to calm them down.

Finally after several attempts of shutting them up, the crew sat around Franky who leaned back against a big rock and eyed Sunny with anger in his eyes.

"Those bastards. They'll pay for what they did to Sunny." He growled as he slowly sipped on the nutritional drink Sanji had made him. Franky looked around at the others.  
"Well? You guys found out who those cloaked freaks were right?" He asked. Franky's eyes travelled around the semi-circle, noting the various degrees of guilt, exasperation, frustration and sadness on his Nakama's face. Unable to keep the anger out of his eyes, he clicked his sunglasses onto his nose and looked up at the unmoving sky.

"….I'll take that as a no."

"But Franky-" Usopp started, and was cut off by Luffy, who stood up and pulled his hat low over his face.

"We'll find them. Absolutely." As he said that, he turned around and walked off towards the beach, kicking small shells and stones in his path. The Straw hats looked on after their Captain as the unsaid words echoed in the silence.

"And we'll make them pay."

Robin watched as Luffy strode away from them, kicking stones and shells away in frustration. She knew that this whole ordeal had been hardest on their young Captain. Even though Luffy was powerful and always did what he promised, Robin couldn't help but wonder that sometimes they took his strength for granted. That fact had been proved when the Straw hats had looked down at an exhausted Luffy, who had just beaten CP9's Lucci and was lying on the floor of the tower in Enies Lobby, unable to move. It had also been proved, when she had heard the story of how Zoro had had a taste of Luffy's pain and suffering from Bartholowmew Kuma, on Thriller Bark. When Sanji had found the nearly dead swordsman, the others simply couldn't fathom how he had gotten such sever-life threatening injuries. Robin sighed and looked back at Franky who was re-assuring Nami and the others that it was merely a stroke of bad luck and negligence on his part, that had caused such a thing to happen.

She shut her eyes and breathed slowly, letting the cool morning breeze rustle through her hair. It had barely been a day and they had already gone through hell. She couldn't help but wonder what mysteries were waiting for them. That led her towards another thought. Sir Francis Leonidas Cart-emir. Or Emir, as he called himself. Even though Luffy had sent him flying with a single punch, she couldn't help but think that there was much more to the strange man than what he was letting on. Rather, what had happened last night seemed like it was done on a whim, rather than on a command.

Robin's eyes snapped open as realization hit her. She rose stiffly and walked towards where Luffy had disappeared.

"Luffy! LUFFY!"

Luffy popped his head out from behind a couple of big rocks and looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face.

"What is it Robin?! I can hear perfectly fine! There's no need to shou-"

"Luffy." Robin cut him off as she approached him. The dark haired man gave her a frustrated look, as he waited for the dark skinned archeologist to continue.

"Luffy. That man you hit yesterday. Don't you think he was strange?"

"Eh? You mean that mustache freak?" Luffy asked digging his nose and leaning against a rock. Robin nodded.

"Well yeah. He was a freak!" Luffy guffawed and Robin clicked her tongue in obvious disapproval at his answer.

"Robin? Did you figure something else out?" Nami called from behind them, as she climbed over some rocks and slid down to them. Usopp appeared around the corner, followed by the others.

Robin nodded and tapped her chin in thought.

"Yes. I was just doing a little reminiscing, when my mind wandered to our encounter yesterday." She paused looking around at them.

"And I thought that it was strange for someone who was able to defeat Franky and damage the Sunny-" She looked at Franky apologetically as he made a disgusted noise. "-to simply take a punch from Luffy and not return the favour. What I found even stranger, was that the jumpsuit-guy and his hooded minions hastily retreated before any of us could think of chasing them." She stopped and let what she was saying sink in.

"So you're saying…" Nami frowned. "….that this man wasn't MEANT to confront us?" As always Robin was impressed by Nami's ability to quickly grasp the situation.

"Ehh~?! You mean that guy just came to show off and nothing else?!" Usopp yelled as he threw his arms up in disbelief. The others looked slightly annoyed as well and Brook and Chopper joined in, as the trio 'Ehh'd loudly throwing themselves on the ground and falling over each other.

Nami rolled her eyes at their exaggerated stupidity as she eyed her Captain, waiting for him to react.

"And? What do you say to that Luffy?"

"Hmm? I still think they ran away 'cause their boss got beaten up." He said as he sat cross-legged on the sand, still digging his nose. Nami let out an exasperated breath as Robin chuckled and Zoro and Franky sat down across from Luffy. A tick mark formed on Nami's fore-head as she raised a fist and punched Chopper, Brook and Usopp who were running around in circles, with their arms raised and screaming for help. Sanji lit his cigarette and exhaled after a few seconds.

"So do we go after them Senchou, or just sit here waiting for someone else to attack?" He asked, looking at his captain.

Luffy, who had apparently finished his digging adventure, leaned back against the rock and chewed on a small twig. The Strawhats waited impatiently for their captain's decision. Robin couldn't tell what was going on in Luffy's head, as his precious Straw hat covered his eyes. He suddenly sat up and slammed his hand on the sand, causing them to jump. They watched as Luffy raised his hand to show a dead scorpion. The tiny yet deadly creature seemed to have been sneaking up on him, but Luffy was too quick for it. The man raised his head slightly, so one of his eves were uncovered.

" We wait for them. And when they come….." The nine companions eyed the scorpion, some of them wearily, as Luffy continued. "…. We squish them before they get us."

* * *

_The man tapped his heavily ringed finger on the edge of his armrest, as he waited for his undeserving pupil. If there was one thing he hated with all his life, it would be in-discipline. And probably, waiting. He raised his head slightly as the doors opened and Emir walked in, bowing so low his weird, horned head almost touched the floor._

"_Well?" The deep, gruff voice asked as Emir flinched._

"_W-Well you see Master, I was merely trying to show them whose boss-" Emir was cut off by the loud thud of a heavy walking stick against the marble floor._

"_Then tell me Emir. Who IS the boss?" The man who had been called 'Master' asked. Emir whimpered and collapsed onto his knees._

"_I-Im so extremely sorry Master. I simply have no excuses whatsoever for this great misconduct of mine."_

"_I'm sure you don't. Now leave. And the next time you act on your own…." He clutched the edge of his armrest, turning it to fine dust in a matter of seconds. Emir nodded and hurried out the door, his head bowed the entire time._

"_Weren't you a little too harsh on the boy?" Master turned his head slightly and nodded, acknowledging the woman who had appeared from the shadows. _

"_Risela LavenDark." He muttered._

"_What in the world would the boss's right hand be doing here?" The woman who had been addressed as Risela chuckled silently._

"_Well as you said, I am just the boss's right hand. There fore even I cannot disobey a direct order from him." Her snake-like smile widened as Master paled._

"…_Direct order? From HIM? Why!? I have everything under control!" The woman tutted, as she walked up to him. Stretching a long finger, she caressed his cheek._

"_It seems HE disagrees. If He sent me to clean up, then you really must have done something to-" She flicked his cheek, causing him to flinch. "-piss Him off." Master's eyes widened as he watched Risela's body transform into a Viper. His eyes reflected his fear and he barely had time to breathe out a desperate plea, before she struck. _

_Risela stepped over the bulky man's huge form as she made her way towards the shadows, his scream echoing in the silence._

"_No! Please!"_

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~_


	8. Chapter 8

A/n: I has exams now so I'm sorry I didn't update D:

So here's an extra funny chapter for y'all~

Please review~ Thanks~

Love~

N.B:

Bentou: Lunch box.

Fufufufufu: A way of laughing usually used in manga to portray contempt. It is the equivalent of the English 'muahahahahaha'.

Marimo: One of Sanji's nicknames for Zoro. Usually translated to 'moss-ball or moss-head'.

Ero-cook: One of Zoro's nicknames for Sanji. It means pervert-cook. C;

Toki: Is a way of saying tick-tock I guess. It basically can mean time. He says 'toki' at the end of his sentences like how various other characters add a catch phrase after everything they say.

CHAPTER 8

_As Risela appeared out of the shadows and into the darkened hallway, she was stopped by a tall, lean figure leaning against the stonewall. _

"_There was no need to kill him…."_

"_What's this? I didn't know you had a soft spot for that vile man." The woman chuckled darkly._

_Emir sighed and stood up straight. Scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably he said:_

"…_.. Vile or not, he WAS my teacher."_

"_Fufufufu~ Is that so? Well you have my condolences." Risela replied as she slid past him. _

"_But really Risela sama. Why in the world would HE ask you to come here? Killing Master would have been an easy job for any of us."_

"_Is that right? Well seeing you're face now, one would find that hard to believe. No?" The snake woman asked as she looked back over her shoulder._

_Emir gulped and bowed slightly._

"_That is true. It may have been slightly harder for me, but Toki or Yagashi would have-" He was interrupted by a swift movement that had him pinned against the wall, with a blade stuck into its ragged surface, inches from the man's head._

"_Neither that clumsy bloke of a man or that pathetic excuse for a swordsman, would have completed the task without dragging it out. I've just about had it with your ill manners. You Leonidas really surprise me. And it's not always pleasant."_

_Emir watched as his superior melted into the shadows, too afraid to even move. He released the breath he didn't know he was holding, as he closed his eyes slowly._

"_So it is already that time I see."_

* * *

"OOOOOI~ FRAAAANKYYY~"

"What is it Luffy? Are you done cleaning that bit?"

"Yup!" Luffy said as he swung himself over to where Franky was re-painting the left side of Sunny's hull. He was just about to say something when-

"Luffy~ Come here for a second~"

"Oi Nami! I'm telling you it's a bad idea!"

"Shut up Usopp. Luffy~"

"Coming!" The young Captain replied as he once again swung over to the other side of the ship. He landed on the sand with an 'oomph' and looked to where Nami was excitedly waving him over. Usopp was making frantic hand gestures behind her. Cocking his head in confusion, he walked over to them. Nami grinned at him and patted his shoulder.

"So Luffy~ You know how you have a super handy ability right~" Nami cooed.

"I do?" Luffy asked, as Nami dragged him off with Usopp following them, still frantically trying to tell Luffy something.

"Yep!" The Carrot-haired woman said happily as she planted her hands on her hips and looked at Luffy happily. By now Luffy had figured Nami was up to something, no thanks to Usopp's desperate and weird hand gestures. He eyed her wearily before deciding to ask her what she had planned for him.

"Well you see~ Usopp and I were painting this side of Sunny, and we realized what a BIG ship she was." Nami said as she turned around and walked towards a pile of buckets and paintbrushes that lay near Sunny.

"So?" The dark haired man asked slowly as Nami lugged the buckets towards him. Luffy eyed the buckets wearily and then looked at Sunny. Unlike Franky's side, which he and Chopper had done a magnificent job of painting, Nami and Usopp's side was barely any better. Actually it looked worse. Someone had been on an artistic adventure, as they had drawn various unintelligible things on the ship. Leaving the paint aside, the two hadn't even taken off the chains. Luffy sighed as he expected what was coming. For some reason this island had made him a little more smart. Just a bit.

"So~" Nami held up two cans of caramel coloured paint.

"Will you help us paint our wonderful ship?"

Luffy gulped and glanced at Usopp who was making gagging actions and then collapsed on the sand, as if dead. So Luffy took the warning and nodded at Nami.

"That's great! Usopp you help too." She added as she kicked the long-nosed man and walked away. Finally regaining what little bit of common sense he had, Usopp called after their Navigator.

"Oi Nami. Where are you going?"

"Me?" She slowly turned and looked at them with half-lidded eyes.

"You can't POSSIBLY expect a weak woman like me-" She batted her eyelids and placed a slender finger to her chin. "-to do something so tedious and back breaking like painting a huge ship. Right?" Nami added, her face turning dark and a menacing aura appearing around her. Both men gulped and vigorously shook their heads, not wanting another little introduction to Nami's 'weak' fist. Nami 'hmphed' and walked around to the other side, leaving her captain and sniper, arguing about who got to paint which half.

"Ah Nami!" Chopper exclaimed as he transformed into his usual adorable form.

"Not bad. You boys really have outdone yourselves this time haven't you?" Nami asked, impressed by the now shining exterior of their ship.

"Of course! This is Sunny we're talking about. She has to be SUUUUUPPPPEEERRR!" Franky posed in his typical 'Super' pose and Chopper clapped happily. Nami couldn't help but smile.

"Well you guys deserve a treat. I'll ask Sanji kun if he can whip up something special for you guys."

"Thanks Nami!" Chopper said as Franky 'Super'd again.

"Oh and you might want to help dumb and dumber over on that side. They still seem to be arguing on which half of Sunny is bigger." The slender woman rolled her eyes as she walked away.

After Luffy's declaration a couple of hours ago, the crew had decided to prepare them selves. Franky had insisted that he take care of Sunny since he let those 'bastards' do what they did to her. But of course the others refused to let him do it alone and decided to share the blame. So while Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Franky and Nami, she still didn't know why exactly she volunteered to clean such a large ship, cleaned Sunny, Sanji cooked several meals in advance in case they needed to move away from Sunny for long. Brook helped Sanji pack all the food in various Bentous for the crew. Zoro and Robin volunteered to go scouting in order to locate the enemies' whereabouts. Though Robin believed it would be a waste of time since they would have hidden themselves well enough on such a large island, Zoro still insisted they go look. Nami shuddered as she remembered the look of murder on Zoro's face. She only prayed that they came back safely. Not that she was worried about Zoro of course. But he had an uncanny ability of getting into trouble. Not to mention dragging other people into his troubles. Oh. And getting lost. The Female Navigator rolled her eyes again as she smiled slightly at the thought of the To be Number one Swordsman ending up in some god forsaken place. She walked towards Sanji and Brook wanting to ask if any help was needed when there was a loud boom followed by a string of swear words from their Shipwright. Sighing Nami trudged to the side of Sunny she had entrusted Luffy and Usopp with, steadily regretting that decision. Just as she was about to near the ship, a very red Luffy and a very blue [literally] Usopp appeared.

"Well?" Nami asked, as she tapped her feet. She probably would have hit them by now if not for the newly blossoming swells on top of both their heads.

"HE STARTED IT!" Both men said pointing at each other.

"WHAZZAT?!" Nami couldn't help herself when she found herself knocking the two idiots on their heads, causing them to collapse on the ground. She looked at a very pissed Franky expectantly.

"They somehow managed to mix the paints with gun powder and blow themselves up." He replied irritated. Nami nodded and asked:

"And Sunny?"

That seemed to mellow the Shipwright down as he stroked the ship's bow soothingly.

"She'd fine. Sunny won't go down from some lame ass explosion." He said proudly.

Relieved that there was no damage to their ship, Nami turned back to the two fools crumpled in a heap in front of her and went about beating them up. Just as she had finished yelling at the two apologizing, and very bruised, men, Robin and Zoro appeared out of the forest. Temporarily forgetting about her Nakama's stupidity she went towards the two. Robin seemed amused, while Zoro looked slightly miffed.

"So so?! Didja find their hideout?!" Luffy asked the question that was on all their minds, as they gathered around Robin and Zoro.

"Unfortunately, no." The archeologist replied, causing Luffy, Chopper and Usopp to make faces and go 'Buuuuu'. Robin chuckled at their reactions and suddenly became serious, causing them all to tense.

"But we did get lost."

Everyone just stared at Robin while Zoro grumbled about dark haired women who couldn't keep their damn moths shut. A second later everyone was on the floor guffawing. Zoro by then had turned a bright shade of red and Robin seemed extremely amused.

"Aaaahahahahaa! Bwaahahahahaaa! That's just like Zoro to get lost!" Luffy said while he rolled on the sand, clutching his stomach.

"But Robin, I'm surprised you got lost too?" Nami said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Fufufufufu~ Well actually I must say it was carelessness on my part that let Zoro wander off on his own, but I couldn't help but take a minute or two to think a few things through."

"Waaahahahahaha! Stupid Marimo! If you take your eyes off of him for one minute he'll go get himself lost! That's why I said I'd accompany you Robin chan!" Sanji said as he grinned widely and ruffled Zoro's hair.

"SHUT UP ERO-COOK! And don't touch me!" Zoro said, smacking Sanji's hand away. Robin merely chuckled at this display of affection and looked at Sunny.

"You seem to have done a marvelous job here." She said, gesturing to Sunny. This caused Franky to go 'Super' and Chopper to pretend like he wasn't pleased.

"Yes but SOME people just can't seem to do anything right." Nami said giving Luffy and Usopp the full-demon-mode-Nami look. Usopp and Luffy slowly crawled away to hide behind Sunny.

"Yohohohoho~ It seems the stew is ready Sanji san~" Brook exclaimed as the pleasant smell of salted clams and freshly cooked potatoes filled the air. Everyone savored the smell as they sat around the make-shift table to eat. Luffy and Usopp tried sneaking up to them and stealing some scones, but Sanji kicked them and alerted Nami, who made sure the two were incapacitated to take another step, before she sat down to eat.

"Neither of you gets dinner until you finish painting Sunny!" She said as she bit off the edge of a scone. When the two looked at Sanji with pleading eyes, even the kind-hearted Cook who would never say no to a hungry person, refused to budge.

"You heard Nami san. Until you assholes clean up your mess you're not getting any food."

"Oh my God Sanji kun! This is fantastic!" Nami exclaimed as her eyes sparkled and her face lit up at the exquisite taste that exploded in her mouth.

"Thank you Nami swan~ I'm so glad you liked it~"

As everyone continued eating their meals, each voicing their approval at the wonderful food, Usopp and Luffy painted Sunny vigorously.

"Oi Luffy! This is all your fault! If you hadn't suggested adding some of my super explosive gun powder in the paint, we wouldn't have to be doing this!"

"OI SANJI! You better keep some food for meee!" Luffy yelled, his neck stretched high so he could look at the others over the ship.

"Oi Luffy~ don't ignore me~" Usopp whined as they both continued to vigorously paint Sunny.

Ten minutes later, the sniper and robber-man were finally done and lay panting in the sand. Sanji came up to them and set down two bowls of steaming stew, a plate full of scones and a platter full of meat for Luffy. The two dug in hungrily, mouthing incorrigible words of appreciation around mouthfuls of food. Sanji merely chuckled and took a drag of his cigarette. It was his seventh cigarette and the day had barely begun. At this rate, he was going to smoke away his entire stash before they even got off this god-forsaken island. He couldn't help but smile at Luffy trying to steal Usopp's scones and Usopp complaining to Sanji that Luffy got so much meat and the great Captain Usopp didn't get any.

Sanji looked towards the horizon, wondering:

"_Just how much more of this place are we supposed to endure?"_ Even as he the thought crossed his mind, he knew that they're adventure here had barely begun.

* * *

_Atop one of the tallest trees, two pairs of huge violet eyes watched, as the so-called Pirates who had landed on their Island seemed to be having fun._

"_They don't seem to have understood yet-toki." The stranger thought. He watched as the green-haired man was made fun of and everyone laughed at his expense. _

"_They need to be taught another lesson-toki."_

_The bulky man jumped off the tree and landed softly on the ground._

"_They have to be shown the power of HIM-toki. No one but us can roam freely on this 'Island beyond Time'." His mysterious eyes sparkled dangerously as he moved towards The Castle with unimaginable speed for someone of his build._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

A/n: So~ Who do you think the mysterious man is~ Ahahahaha you'll find out soon~

Another cliff hanger! :D I seem to love doing that. Lol.

Please review~


	9. Chapter 9

A/n: Aaaaand here's another chapter! Yay! Looks like I'm on a writing spree~

So I was asked exactly how long this story was gonna be. And honestly I have no clue! I'm making this up as I go. I honestly don't even what Imma be writing in this chapter while I'm typing this xD

Yes. Pathetic. I'm sorry. Anyway. You can expect atleast 10-15 more chapters? Ok maybe not 15 but. Yeah. Too long a note! Lets get back to the story~ Please review~

Love~

N.b:

Nii: Used for Older Brother. Can be used with san, chan,tan or sama. Can also be used as Onii- Onii san, Onii chan, Onii Sama.

Mugiwaras: I just found out Mugiwara means Straw. Mugiwara Boshi means Straw-hat. I can't believe they've been calling Luffy, Straw this whole time ._. But the translation says Mugiwaras means Straw-hats. So, Mugiwaras refers to the crew.

Mo: A way of saying enough. Usually said in frustration.

Senchou: Means captain. Again I just wanted to use the word~

Den Den Mushi: the snail communication device used in One Piece.

Shin Kabuto: Usopp's new version of his catapult like weapon, Kabuto.

Ne: Kinda like saying Hey, depending on the context. I guess. I'm no Japanese expert so sorry~

CHAPTER 9

_He waited silently, as the huge Castle doorway slowly hissed open. Ambling in, he looked around. The spacious entryway was empty except for the animals HE insisted on keeping. Walking towards the drawbridge, he could barely contain his irritation._

"_They MUST be punished-toki. They have gone too far-toki. Who do they think they are to trespass on OUR Island and do as the please-toki?! They must be pu-"_

"_Toki? Is that you~" At the sound of the slightly annoying and very whiny voice, the man who had been addressed as 'Toki' turned around._

"_Is that you Yagashi Nii-toki?"_

"_Ye~s. is that my dear dear little brot-"_

"…_..Nii san please-toki. We don't have time to play." Toki dragged a pouting Yagashi across the drawbridge and into the inner part of the Castle. Pushing open a huge Mahogany door, he walked through the winding hallways and up steep staircases to reach another smaller door. Pushing the door open, the two men stepped inside. _

"_Leo Nii sama, I have brought Yagashi Nii-toki." The man flinched at the sound of his name. _

"_A-Ah. Is that you Toki? Yes, good job. Now take a seat." Emir said, gesturing to the plush couches and huge feather cushions scattered around the room. They nodded and sat down._

"_Well I'm sure you know the reason we have all gathered here…." Emir started, continuously fiddling with his thumbs._

"…_..It seems, HE has decided it is Time." Both men sat up straight as Emir finished his sentence. Toki looked absolutely elated, whereas Yagashi paled and looked like he was going to be sick. The two started talking at the same time._

"_So these measly Pirates are the ones-toki?!"_

"_Are you serious? But it was supposed to be later!" As Emir raised his hands, the two so-called 'brothers' looked at each other with irritation clear on their faces. Emir sighed and nodded slowly._

"_Yes. HE has made HIS decision. We are expected to act soon."_

"_Leave everything to me-toki! I will show them what it means to mess with us-toki!" Emir nodded tiredly, while Yagashi simply stared at the wall in front._

"_Haha! This will be so much fun-toki! Those foolish Mugiwaras wont even know what hit them-toki!"_

* * *

"For the LAST TIME. You can NOT pretend to be a huge extinct reptile."

"But Nami~ How come Usopp gets to be a porcupine~ Its not fair~"

"Yohohoho~ But Luffy san, Usopp san's nose would stand out too much otherwise."

"And I am NOT a porcupine! It just so happens that I fell on some weird cactus thing!"

"And if you were a lizard, where would keep that hat of yours Luffy? Is not like you would ever leave it behind." Nami and Luffy stopped mid-wrestle to look at Zoro with wide eyes. Even Brook and Usopp who were egging them on, seemed to be impressed.

"W-What…..?"

Nami stood up abruptly, causing Luffy to yelp and fall down, and brushed her jeans clean.

"Well well. Who would have thought Zoro of all people would come up with such a simple solution. Well Luffy you don't want to be an over-sized lizard NOW do you?"

"Definitely not! No lizard is worth my precious hat!" As Nami encouraged Luffy and offered to fix his slightly worn out hat, Zoro stood there looking completely confused.

"Oi Marimo. If you have time to look like a lost puppy why don't you come help load these Bentous into Franky's cart?"

"And I'm TELLING you that its not a cart, but a Super-Cola powered-All Terrain-Carrier kun…. The III!"

"Fufufufufu~ Zoro can get lost even when he stands in one place." Robin chuckled. This caused Franky and Sanji to immediately stop bickering and guffaw. Finally Zoro regained his composure and stomped off to Chopper, grumbling, once again, about big mouthed-dark haired women and curlicues and steel nosed cyborgs.

After what seemed like hours of preparing themselves, the crew had finally packed everything and was ready to depart.

"So is the Sunny locked up securely?" Nami asked Franky, a frown decorating her pretty face.

"Yes yes." Franky said, waving her off. "After all I wouldn't want someone stealing our treasure…-" He pushed up his sunglasses and eyed Nami with a grin."…-Right?" Nami merely 'hmph'd and turned on her heel.

"As long as Sunny is safe, its fine." Luckily she didn't notice the cyborg rolling his eyes and making a disbelieving face.

"Oi Nami~ I thought we were gonna wait until those bastards came HERE! Why are we going to them?!" Luffy whined as he followed Nami.

"BEAUSE genius. The last thing we would want is for a repeat of what happened last time."

"But last time we were all separate!"

"Exactly."

"Huh?!" Luffy scratched his head and looked at Nami in confusion. The navigator merely rolled her eyes and said:

"WHY would we let them destroy Sunny again?! Think about it Luffy!"

"But Nami! Why would we do the same thing again and split up?! We all know what that led to last time!" By now the messy haired man had his hands thrown above his head and was shouting at his steadily raging Navigator. His loud voice caused the others to look at them, wondering what was going on. Finally Usopp who was the closest, voiced his opinion.

"I agree with Luffy, Nami. Its mental to just rush into an unknown territory without any pre-planning!" That finally made Nami reach her boiling point. Her face turned red and her hair grew wild, as she hit the two on their heads.

"JUST because you two idiots weren't listening, doe NOT mean we haven't planned things through!"

"Ok fine." Luffy said, as he sat cross-legged on the sand and rubbed his aching head. "Tell us what the plan is then."

He looked up to stare at Nami. She was about to retort back when she saw the look in her Captain's eyes. So she sighed exasperatedly and ruffled her hair.

"Mo! Fine. This time you win." She pointed at the two and narrowed her eyes. "But ONLY this time."

So saying she stalked off to a cooing Sanji and a trembling Chopper, who was trying to hide and failing miserably as usual.

Luffy looked at Usopp who frowned and shrugged. By then Robin had come up to them and sat down beside Usopp, across from Luffy.

"Well you see Senchou san-" Robin used her previous nickname for Luffy as she held up a hand to silence them. "-we decided earlier that even though it would be a good idea to stick together, it would make no difference if all of us are in one single group. Even though we are just nine people, we all specialize in our own fields of attack. Therefore, it would be smarter to move in two groups."

Usopp nodded and seemed to be deep in thought. But Luffy still seemed to be confused.

"But Robin~ we cant use the baby Den Den Mushis right? So how will we know when something happens?" Robin smiled and was about to answer, when something small and round came flying over her head and landed in Usopp's lap. Usopp yelped and flung the object at Luffy, as he scurried back, Shin Kabuto out and ready for action.

"Oi relax~" Franky said as he we walked up behind a smiling Robin. As Luffy picked up the small object and eyed it curiously, Usopp decided if his Captain wasn't flying ten feet in the air by then, it was safe. "Whazzat?"

"That." Franky pointed at the little ball like thing. "Is a trans communication device."

"Tranwhaa?"

"Fufufu. Trans communication device. In simple terms, it can detect voices and other noises made within a certain diameter. After recording these sounds, this device is modified to automatically share the recorded data with any other devices of its kind."

"So you're saying its like a Den Den Mushi, except much more sophisticated?" Sanji asked as he blew out a puff of smoke.

"Exactly." Franky said motioning to him. By then, the others had gathered around and were listening intently to what the cyborg was saying.

"So how exactly did you make this?" Usopp asked as he carefully observed the small object.

"I didn't." Usopp looked up and gave him a weird expression, to which Franky merely grinned and continued. "I happened to find it during my fight with those cloaked freaks. I'm pretty sure that this device belonged to a superior of theirs, who had simply given it to them for temporary communication." The others nodded and didn't disagree. They had all met the so called, superior that Franky spoke of.

"But I still don't understand how we can communicate with this? Yohohoho~"

"Like Robin said, this device can pick even the minutest of sounds, so a simple scratch against a tree bark or the rustling of leaves should be enough for the trans communication device to detect and record." Franky explained to a frowning Brook.

"But we'll be inside a forest?" Chopper's little voice said as he looked up at the small ball in their Shipwright's huge hand. Franky simply shrugged.

"Then something more obvious? Like a shout or a common word yelled or something."

"And this tiny ball can hear that word and send it wherever we are?" Zoro asked, looking at it in disbelief.

"Well Marimo. Not ALL round things are useless." Sanji said once again ruffling Zoro's unnatural sea-weed coloured hair. While the two bickered, the others went about observing the small object.

"Do we have its twin?" Nami asked as she weighed the ball-like device in her hand. Both Franky and Robin looked at her with surprised expressions.

"What. You didn't honestly expect me to be as dumb as this lot did you?" She asked, slightly miffed at their obvious surprise. Robin merely chuckled.

"Of course not, Nami chan. Its just I'm surprised you figured there are actually pairs of these." Franky 'hmmm'd and looked at Nami like he saw her for the first time.

"Oh for the love of-!" She slumped onto the sand and pouted. This caused the others to laugh and pick themselves up, to pack whatever was remaining.

Finally, after a nice large lunch, much larger than normal in Luffy's case, the crew stood facing the forest. They had rechecked to make sure Sunny was pad-locked and completely intruder proof, [Nami especially made sure that Usopp lay traps in every open area possible, in and around the ship.] and had hidden her in the little cove. Not that it made it any less obvious, but atleast it gave them a little bit of reassurance. They made sure Franky's SC-PA-TC III was loaded and checked and out of reach of Luffy. And finally split themselves into two groups. That was the hardest part because it wasn't exactly easy to decide which group would have two of the Monster Trio. Finally it was decided that Usopp, Franky, Chopper [who was reluctant to the splitting up as well, as he wanted to be able to tend to everyone's injuries.] and Sanji would be one group. Nami, Luffy, Zoro, Brook and Robin would be the other.

It was decided that Sanji's group would be the main unit and sneak on the enemy while Luffy's group would act as decoy. Of course this was only for the joy of having Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Brook satisfied and not interfere with the actual plan.

"And the actual plan is?" Zoro asked as he raised an eyebrow at Nami.

"I still think we should have included Marimo with the other clueless idiots."

"I second that Sanji kun."

"OI!"

"Fufufu well its too late now~ besides they seem to be extremely happy playing the Decoy game." They all turned to look at Brook pretending to be Emir and Luffy and Chopper attacking him, while Usopp snuck up behind him and struck him on his head. While Brook pretended to be in immense pain, Usopp and Luffy danced around and Chopper was genuinely worried they hit him too hard.

"Well. I guess we cant have ALL the idiots being clueless now can we?" Nami said as she ignored Zoro's death glare and looked towards the forest.

"Ne~ Is it just me or has that guy been watching us for a long time?" Everyone turned to look at one of the tallest trees, atop which a big round creature/person seemed to be sitting. Sanji exhaled and put his cigarette back in his mouth before answering.

"I've been wondering that too. Does he think we're so dumb that we wouldn't possibly expect anyone to spy on us, that he can just obviously sit there all day. Or is he just plain stupid?"

"Probably the latter. But he may also be SUPPPEEERR intelligent and WANT us to see him."

Everyone looked around at each other, weighing the possibility of what Franky said, to be true. Nami finally sighed and called to the four who were having fun.

"You guys! Get ready to leave!"

"Oi!"

"That's no way to speak to Lady you shitty Marimo!"

"Shut up Curly brow!" Zoro turned back to glare at Nami, who merely looked at him with contempt.

"What's the ACTUAL plan? And why the hell are you looking at me like that?!" Nami simply shrugged and walked towards Luffy and the others.

"Oi!"

"I think she meant to say that you might be too dumb to reveal the plan after all." Robin said with a sadistic smile. Zoro was about to argue when a loud boom echoed across the island, followed by a loud voice that seemed to be resonating across the whole island, yelling a series of curses and someone yelping in pain. Then suddenly everything went back to being dead silent. Nami spun around to look at the man who was spying on them, but he was no where to be seen. Then before anyone could react, Robin suddenly exclaimed, like she had figured something out and took off running towards the forest.

"….Robin?" Nami asked slowly as Luffy yelled after her and the others took off towards the forest.

"Wait…. You guys…"

"Nami san hurry up! This may be exactly what we were waiting for!" Nami let herself be dragged towards the forest, by Sanji. Her legs automatically running to catch up with her Nakama, but her heart still clinging onto the false feeling of safeness the beach offered. Before she disappeared into the thick darkness and danger of the unknown, she had time for a single fleeting thought.

"_Please let us get out of this alive….."_

* * *

"_OUCH! OWOWOWOOWOWOW!"_

"_Fufufufu~ you really are clumsy aren't you."_

"_Shut up Risela! Stop laughing at me and help me get out!" Risela chuckled and pulled the skinny man out from under a pile of gears and wires._

"_Cheh. I can't believed it was such an utter failure." The man grumbled to himself, as he stroked his abused back and started to pick up his scattered blueprints._

"_You can always rebuild it. Your genius knows no bounds after all." Risela said, pulling at a stray sheet of paper, stuck between the curtains._

"_I don't have TIME Risela! Not as much as I need!"_

"_But isn't that WHY this operation means so much-" The snake-like eyes watched as her master slowly turned around, his face thrown into the shadows dancing around the room. _

"_-Zeit sama?"_

A/n: WOHOOO! Another chapter done! Phew this was longer than expected. By the time I realized it I'd already written 10 pages :0

So FYI Zeit means Time in German~  
Who do you think this mysterious man is~ C;

Review please~

Next Chpater will be out asap!

Love~


	10. Chapter 10

A/n: So I was wondering if I should add more tragic and shocking scenes…..? Maybe? Just a little? 'Cause otherwise there's no point in keeping so much suspense lol xD

And I'm sorry for the super late update. My 12th finals are coming up and I gotta start studying.

* * *

CHAPTER 10

_The leaves rustled around him, as he sped towards the Castle. The sudden explosion seemed to have come from there. _

"_Not to mention HIS voice…." Toki gulped as he sped up his pace. HE was not supposed to even be on this island, let alone in the same Castle the others were in. Was this one of those things that Emir and Yagashi had kept from him, or had HE just moved in after Master's death? Nothing seemed to make sense to the large man. Even though he was truly excited to be finally carrying out the plan, the suddenness of it and the arrival of the Mugiwaras didn't seem to be a coincidence. _

"_Is that why I felt the slight changes around the barrier?" Had HE been making the island move without the knowledge of the others? After all from within the island's barrier, the outside world remained stationery no matter what. Letting out a frustrated groan, Toki made some hand signs as he reached the secret entrance to their hideout. The huge gate opened and he rushed inside to figure out what was going on. The second the huge gate melted into nothingness behind him, he stopped short and gaped at the sight he saw._

_The majestic Castle that HE had proclaimed as their home stood before him in all its glory. The four tall towers in the four corners, reached for the sky as several layers of protection surrounded it. But the high walls surrounding it were crumbling and as he skipped across the broken drawbridge, he noticed the column of smoke coming from the farthest section of the Castle._

"_It couldn't be…"_

_Toki increased his pace as he appeared in front of the crumbling wall of the south-east tower. Yagashi and Emir seemed to have already dealt with the situation, as several hooded minions were diligently working to put out the fire. Reaching the side of his two brothers, Toki finally voiced out the question that had been bugging him since he heard HIS voice._

"_Why is HE here?" But his question only earned a swift glare and a tired smile. Looks like he had to find out the hard way after all._

* * *

"Oi Robin! Slow down! Where the hell are you going?!"

When he didn't get a response, Luffy frowned and frog-jumped over a large rock. Robin had suddenly taken off after that explosion and that strange voice had echoed around the island. Luffy had run after her, but had gotten no response from Robin for all his shouting and calling was worth. Finally Robin stopped and pushed aside some large leaves, as she disappeared behind them. Luffy groaned and followed suit. As he shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness, he could hear Robin walking away swidtly. Squinting he looked around at the weird ruins and decided this must have been what Zoro and Nami had told them about.

"Luffy what are you doing? Hurry up."

At the sound of Nami's voice, Luffy followed the others until they reached some pond like structure.

"This is….."

"Zoro?"

"Yeah. This is what we found the other day." Zoro frowned as he watched Robin steadily move across the surface of the wall, her eyes darting back and forth as she intently searched for something.

"Robin?"

"…..Almost. I know its here."

"What's here?!" Luffy asked in an irritated voice. Zoro looked around and was surprised to find that there were much lesser people than expected.

"Where the hell did Ero-cook, Chopper, Brook and Usopp go?"

"Eh?" Nami asked as she looked around too. It seemed the crew had gotten split at some point of time. Right now, only Robin, who was walking into the ankle deep water of the pool, Zoro, who had a pissed expression on his face, Luffy who was jumping up and down in the water, and her, were the only people here.

"Franky isn't here either." She said worriedly.

"Well I guess we can assume Chopper is with Franky since he can't move around much. Which means the other three idiots got lost."

Nami eyed the green haired swordsman wearily and decided it would be better if she didn't retort back. She walked to the edge of the pool and rested her palms on it as she watched Robin carefully scanning the wall right behind the idol. Luffy seemed to be intrigued by the various stones arranged on the platform and was playing with them. Nami sighed at his childishness as she impatiently waited for Robin to explain what was going on. She couldn't help but wonder when Sanji had gotten separated from them. As far as she remembered he had dragged her through the forest. Maybe at some point of time he had let go, when he saw she had regained her composure. Nami couldn't help but worry about Franky and the others. Just like Luffy had said, it seems they had split up like last time. Before Nami could continue that train of thought, Robin exclaimed and motioned for them to come near her.

The three waited around Robin as she stood up and dusted her dress.

"I found it." She said triumphantly. Nami was initially confused but then her eyes rested on the small scrap of rusted metal that the archeologist held in her palm.

"Whazzat?"

"This, Luffy. Is our key to the mysteries of this island." Luffy didn't look like he cared for the mysteries of the island.

"Will it get us to that mustache freak?" Robin chuckled and nodded.

"Yes it very well might." She nodded at Nami and Zoro and turned towards the wall. As she slid her hand across its surface, she started explaining what she had found.

"You see, its been bugging me for a while since we landed here. This so-called island seemed to be initially uninhabited but we obviously found traces of the opposite. Meaning people ARE living here. If what we found out were true, and this village was brought here, as is, from a different time, then its safe to assume the rest of the island was also formed in the same way. Meaning the flora, fauna AND inhabitants were all moved simultaneously with the land."

She turned to look at her three Nakama.

"The weird fruit Sanji and Chopper found, along with the ammonite remains and the large wasps Luffy and the others found, is proof of this. But, we never found any people." She looked at them seriously. Nami seemed to understand what was going on. Zoro had his classic frown on. And Luffy just stood there picking his nose.

"Did any of you wonder how, in an island cut away from the real world, day and night still existed? Its because at some points of time, the barrier around this so called Island weakens." Nami frowned and crossed her arms thoughtfully.

"Are you saying that the barrier is weakened on purpose?" Robin shook her head and turned back towards the wall. She raised her hand towards some drawings.

"See this sun here? And these stars? I think it signifies that the island automatically adjusts itself to follow the normal time of this world."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, we were mistaken about assuming that these ruins were placed here." She once again turned to look at them, thin frown lines creasing her alabaster skin.

"These ruins are probably the only things that actually belong here."

* * *

-Elsewhere-

"OUCH!"

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! But with all these roots and branches all over the place, I can't walk in a straight line." Chopper looked at a cussing Franky with teary eyes. The Cyborg shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Don't worry about it. Its my own fault for getting these wounds."

"Maybe it would have been better for you to stay behind Franky."

"What and let a repeat of last time happen? I agree it was my fault for underestimating those cloaked freaks but in this condition I'm as good as dead if they attack again."

"Oi Franky! Chopper!" The Reindeer-man turned around to see a grinning Usopp appearing from the bushes.

"Usopp!"

"We're here too."

"Sanji! And Brook too!"

"Yohohoho~ Franky san you look quite green. You almost match the trees!"

Franky grumbled at Brook's joke as Chopper launched himself at Usopp and Sanji smiled at them.

"So it looks like Luffy and the others got split up." Franky said as he slid down on to the mossy ground. Resting his head against the tree he was leaning on, he looked at Sanji.

"Yeah looks like it." Sanji sighed and lit another cigarette as he sat down on a log.

"So this totally screwed up our plan."

"Eh does it matter? Robin seemed like she had figured something out. Besides-" Franky felt around his shirt and pulled out a small round device. "-We have snail kun with us."

"Ah! Its that ghost sensing device!" Usopp exclaimed as he pointed at the round object in Franky's overly large hands.

"Trans communication device you mean." Sanji said as he rolled his eyes. "So that means…."

"Yep. Nami has its twin." Just as Franky said those words, the device vibrated and crackled.

"Oooh~" Chopper, Brook and Usopp exclaimed as they eyed the device. Suddenly a beam shot out of the side of the device and Nami's face appeared. The three fell backwards as they stared wide eyed at Nami.

"Nami swan~ You're safe~" Sanji sang as Franky grinned at her.

"Well looks like you guys are in high spirits." Nami smirked as she watched them settle around Franky.

"You added hologram creation to it?!" Usopp exclaimed as his eyes sparkled.

"Well shall we move on?" Nami cut in, before the grinning Franky could start about how he did it. When everyone nodded, Nami launched into the tale of what Robin discovered.

"So you're saying Nami san, that the ruins that you found is the only real part of this island?"  
"That's right Sanji Kun. And not only that, we also found a key."

"A key?" Usopp asked.

"Then that means there's a lock for it to fit into." Franky said thoughtfully. Nami nodded.

"Exactly. And we found it. Except the lock was on a door and not a treasure box." She added dejectedly.

"A door? Where does this door lead to yohohoho?"

"Luffy and Robin have gone to check it out. But that isn't why I told you all this. Even though we found the door, Robin didn't seem very satisfied."

"And why is that?" Usopp asked as he pushed up his goggles and stopped examining the device.

"Because she thinks what we found was an entrance."

"And if there's an entrance-" Franky started. "-then there should also be an exit." Sanji finished. Nami nodded once again.

"And I'm guessing-" Chopper gulped. "- that you want us to find it?" Nami grinned at him.

"Bingo!"

-Robin and Luffy-

"Oi~ Robin~"

"What is it Luffy?"

"How far does this tunnel thing go~"

"I'm not sure. But we should find some staircases right about-" Luffy fell head first down a long set of stairs as Robin chuckled. "-now."

Luffy groaned and raised his head.

"Mm?" He blinked at the three sharp spears that were pointing at him.

"Well it looks like we found the people." Robin's voice said from behind him.

"Who are you and how did you find this place?"

"Wait just a minute." Robin said as she brought out a small bronze object in the form of a sun.

"That! How did you find that?!"

"If you take us to your leader, I'll be glad to tell you everything."

And so, the two were tied and taken further into the underground tunnel. After a time, the tunnel slowly opened into a very large, empty space. The ceiling was atleast 30 feet high and there were stone pillars erected intermittently along the outer rim of the large space. One of the men disappeared into a small opening at the far end and reappeared a while later.

"Our leader will grace you with his presence now."

Luffy grumbled about being hungry, as they were led from the large space, through a small doorway and into an even larger room of sorts. Both the pirates' eyes widened at the sight before them.

Unlike the dark tunnel, this room was brightly lit by thousands of tiny orbs of light that floated 20 feet above them. The floor was made of white marble, decorated by dark designs. The walls were made of some glowing substance, which Robin decided was limestone. Tall marble pillars were place in a circle 10 feet from the wall and each pillar was connected to the other by intricately carved arches. In the centre of the room the floor was raised in the form of overlapping platforms. The bottommost a large square, followed by smaller squares until it reached the top most square, which was approximately 7 square feet. Atop this platform was a brilliant marble throne, its sides, arms and legs carved intricately with swirling designs and inlaid with precious stones, possibly the same as the ones Nami had found beside the small pond, except highly polished. The same designs were found on the pillars and the light from the orbs reflected off the stones, to throw beautiful patterns of different colours all over the white floor and walls.

But what drew Robin's attention the most, were the people in the room. She hadn't noticed before in the dark, but they wore pure white garments like those the Ancient Greeks and Romans wore. Their hands and necks were adorned with jewelry made of the same stones and their lustrous hair had never before seen varieties of flowers in them. But more than that, they were constantly smiling and their entire demeanor radiated a sense of calm and composure. Robin's eyes slowly scanned the room and finally rested on the man seated atop the marble throne. Unlike everything else in the room, only his attire was of a different colour. The white tunic was covered by a regal purple shawl, that was loosely wrapped around his broad shoulders and fell at his feet in puddles of rich silk. The intricate silver designs on it seemed to glitter with every slight movement the man made. Atop his head was a silver crown adorned with precious stones and gems. His jewelry was the same.

"These people sure are loaded." Luffy said in a low voice. Robin smiled at her Captain, surprised by how well behaved he was being.

"Welcome strangers from the world above." The deep voice cut through the calm air and rested warmly on everything and everyone. Robin bowed and stepped forward.

"Forgive our rude intrusion into your palace." The man shook his head and smiled warmly.

"No no I must say you are very welcome here. For the fact remains that you have somehow, by a stroke of luck, found this place. Which means you are very welcome here."

"I'd like to think of it as archaeological knowledge and not a stroke of luck that we found this place." Robin smiled. The man merely looked at her and smiled.

"You have friends above no? I shall send my men to escort them here. Is the other group of people causing trouble in the south-west exit also one of you?"

"Yes actually they are."

"One of them is seriously injured. And this man here seems to be suffering from wasp bite." He said motioning to Luffy who was slumped against the wall. _That explains why he's so quiet. The medicine seems to have stopped working._

"Would it be too rude to ask for your name?"

"Ah forgive me. How impolite of me not to introduce myself. I am Razhea [A/n: Said as Rah-shee-ah] the leader of my people. And you are?"

"Nico Robin. I am an archeologist. And this is my….. leader. Luffy." Robin decided it would be best to conceal the fact that they were Pirates for now. Razhea nodded and motioned to one of the women sitting on the lower level of the platform. After a brief exchange, the girl came up to them and offered to take them to the guest wing.

"I am sure you are tired. You must rest. We can talk after you have freshened up and eaten." Luffy made some signs of disagreement that Robin understood as him wanting to wait for the others.

"They'll be here soon Luffy. Lets just do as he says for now." Robin whispered to him. The dark haired man frowned but made no motion to argue. So they quietly followed their guide.

* * *

"My Lord-"

"Hepziban."

"Y-yes my Lord?"

"Call Laquarde [A/n: La-car-dey] here."

"The young Prince my Lord?"

"Is there any other Laquarde that you know of?"

"R-right away my Lord."

Razhea watched his trusted advisor bow and scamper away to find his son. _These people. Who are they and How much do they know._

* * *

A/n: Well end of Chapter 10~

New twist. I wasn't expecting it. It just happened. Sorry. And I like the name Razhea for some reason :3 On the spot names are the best~ xD

Hope you liked it! More to come! Extra Chapter before I go back to the I-dunno-when-the-next-time-imma-update phase. So wait for Chapter 11!

Love~


	11. Chapter 11

A/n: Guess whose back with a new Chapter! ME! :D

Yeah well. I should be studying. But whatever. More Razhea! Yay! C:

Also. This maybe the last chapter for a while. Like I said, I'm not sure when I'll update next. It'll either be soon or after a month and a half. EXAMS D:

Sorry

* * *

CHAPTER 11

"Your highness please! Your father has something very important to talk to you about!"

"Eh. And since when do I care what that old man has to say."

"YOUR HIGHNESS!"

"Cheh you're such a drag Heppy~ Fine I'll go see him. Only cause I don't want to get yelled at by Bianca for making you cry."

The boy slammed the door and walked away. He reached the spot where the corridor branched off and one path led to the main hall where the Leader liked to spend all his free time and the other led to the huge dining room and kitchen area. Pushing open the smooth wooden door, he made his way around several young girls scampering around, cooking dinner and sat at the lone table at the farthest corner of the kitchen. Just like Hepsiban had said, it seemed great preparations were being made for the so-called guests who had arrived. One of the maidens kept a basket of fruits on the table and went in search of a platter to place them on. The young lad picked an apple and bit into it as he watched the old cook yell at some silly mistake the assisting girls had made.

"And once again you somehow end up here without any of us noticing. I really wonder if you have a secret passage into the kitchen."

The lad turned to the girl who had just spoken.

"Bianca!"

"Shh! Are you trying to get me killed?!"

"Right right, sorry."

"Anyway why are you here? Didn't His Majesty summon you?"

"Eh~ C'mon Bianca~ Not you too~"

"Ok mister. Lets get your ass back to where it's supposed to be."

"Wait what?! Come on! You're kidding. I don't wanna go talk to that stupid old man."

"Laquarde WILL you stop whining."

"Eh~" Bianca dragged the whining and cribbing Laquarde towards the main hall. Just as they turned the corner, a loud scream accompanied by a barreling mass of fur rammed into them, knocking them to the floor.

"I'm so sorry! Uwaaaah!"

"Luffy! You made Chopper cry again! Didn't I tell you not to play ball with him?!"

"Shishishishishishishi~ Aw c'mon Nami, Chopper was having fun too~ Ne Chopper?"

While Nami yelled at the laughing Luffy, Sanji picked Chopper off of the two lying on the floor and helped them up.

"Are you okay? Oh! A beautiful woman! Luffy how dare you trample such a beautiful flower?! You're gonna pay!"

"Sanji kun please!"

"But Nami san!"

"Fufufufu~ Looks like they hit you pretty hard huh?" Bianca and Laquarde turned to the tall dark haired woman who smiled kindly at them.

"And who might you two youngsters be?"

"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?" Bianca said, eyeing the woman.

"My mistake. I'm Robin. And who might you be?"

"I'm Bianca and this is Laquarde." Bianca said as she pointed to Laquarde who was poking Chopper.

"What is this thing? A Raccoon?"

"I'm a Reindeer!"

"Woah it spoke! Haha you're just like Peri!" Laquarde exclaimed as he picked Chopper up and noogied him.

"Berry? Whose that?"

"Its Peri not Berry. He's Laquarde's pet Toucan." Bianca rolled her eyes at Luffy.

"Oh! You're that girl who gave me that bitter medicine!"

"And you should be in bed."

"I told you Luffy! You aren't healed yet!" Chopper chased Luffy as they ran around an extremely amused Laquarde.

"What the hell is with you people? It's barely been a few hours since you came here and you already act like this was your home."

"Well that old guy did tell us to make ourselves at home. Yohohoho~" Brook said as he appeared behind Bianca.

The girl spun around and stared wide eyed at the talking skeleton behind her.

"My what a beautiful young woman! My dear, if you would be so kind as to show me your pa-" The next second, Brook was a crumpled heap of bones as Nami clapped her hands clean.

"Sorry about that. I'm Nami by the way. And I've been wondering-" She gently ran her fingers against the studded pillar. "-what these stones are?"

"Huh? You mean the sun stones?"

"Sun stones?" Both Robin and Nami asked, as they looked at Bianca curiously. The latter looked from one to the other and then slowly asked.

"…. You've never heard of Sun stones?" Nami shrugged and Robin shook her head. Bianca looked genuinely surprised.

"Well I guess I could tell you then." She said as Nami nodded eagerly and Robin's eyes sparkled. But before the girl could start, there was another loud bang and the sound of something shattering.

"Oh my God! That was His Majesty's favorite vase!"

"Father!"

"My goodness Bianca what in the world is going on here?!"

"Oh look its Heppy~"

"Prince Laquarde! Didn't you leave for the main hall a while ago?!"

"Ah. I got lost so Bianca was taking me there now. But then we got trampled and run around by these people." Laquarde grinned at Luffy and Chopper. Hepsiban turned to look at his daughter.

"Bianca?!"

"Oh please Father. There's absolutely no way this idiot could get lost in his own palace."

"Bianca!"

"Right right. Forgive me my Prince, I shall take you immediately to His Majesty. I am afraid this is where we part." Bianca added as she bowed to a disappointed Nami and an equally disappointed Robin. Bianca strode forward, grabbed Laquarde's wrist harshly and dragged him off.

"My God that girl." Hepsiban said shaking his head.

"I'm so sorry you had to witness that."

"Ne~ Old guy~ That blonde dude was a Prince?" Hepsiban spluttered at Luffy's way of addressing the next Heir.

"Why yes, that was Prince Laquarde. The son of our beloved ruler."

"Ruler? You mean the only guy who wore purple?" Hepsiban eyed the lanky teenager wearily and finally nodded.

"Yes." By then a maiden had come to announce that dinner was ready and everyone walked to the dining room except for Franky who couldn't move and Zoro who was no where to be found, most probably lost. Luffy yelled as he saw all the food laid out and the Mugiwaras heartily had a long deserved feast.

* * *

-Elsewhere-

"Where the hell is this?!" Zoro yelled as he kicked aside another pile of rubble. "There's nothing but rocks, rocks and more rocks! What happened to all that marble?! I thought we were in a palace!" Swearing loudly Zoro once again, found himself in front of a huge wall. Finally at the end of his patience, he pulled out Kitetsu and made two slices down the wall. He punched it with the heel of his sword and watched it crumble. The minute the wall crumbled, he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the bright light. Walking forward he squinted and looked around to see where he was. To his surprise he seemed to be in a garden. The whole space was brightly lit with more of those floating orbs of light and several paths, cut each other at 90-degree angles. The grass was unbelievably green and the flowers were unbelievably colorful. Zoro looked at a bunch of flowers that seemed to be giving out some kind of golden dust.

"What the hell kind of flower is this?"

"Have you never seen Marigolds?" Zoro spun around, clutching his sword, ready to strike, when he saw someone standing a little farther away.

The spot she was standing was bathed in some kind of golden light and a veil covered her face.

"Who the hell are you." Zoro took a step back as her tinkling laughter filled the space between them.

"I am no one of importance. But you, you seem to be some one who is."

"Heh. I'm not falling for that trick." Once again the air was filled with her musical laughter, like the sound of wind chimes. The flowers around her seemed to open fuller than the rest, the birds' song seemed dim in comparison to her laughter, the grass swayed when she moved, as though she were the breeze blowing through. For some reason, Zoro felt at ease. He felt a sense of peace that he seemed to have not felt in eternity. He watched with a half lidded eye, as she floated towards him, the silky white robe that clung to her perfect body, rippling as she moved. He watched as she stopped in front of him and with slender fingers, that seemed so fragile, they might break in an instant, move the veil covering her face.

Zoro sucked in a breath sharply as he stared wide-eyed and open mouthed at the Goddess in front of him. Yes. Goddess. That was the only way to describe her. Her alabaster skin seemed to glow, her full pink lips slightly parted; her slender fingers pushed a stray strand of ivory coloured hair from her face. Then once again, it was as if a non-existent wind was blowing. Her dress gently rippled, forming waves of pearl white flowing across the expanse of green. Her silver curls cascaded down her shoulder, her dark eyes half covered by heavily lidded lashes. She was glowing; the gems on her dress and in her hair sparkling like a thousand diamonds, as she slowly sank into the lush green grass. Zoro hadn't even realized he was holding his breath, until he felt himself breathe. The woman gestured for him to come and he moved slowly, as if in a trance, as he sat beside her.

In all his life, he had never seen such exquisite beauty. He was never really interested in women to begin with and the two on their ship were probably the worst kind. But in front of this woman, even Boa Hancock who was said to be the most beautiful of all the seas, paled in comparison. Zoro was snapped out of his thoughts as the Goddess spoke.

"Unlike the Marigolds that you know of, these flowers are actually like gold silk. They give out golden pollen that look like stars in the sky." She turned to look at him, two crystal clear orbs, reflecting all of Zoro's emotions and leaving him open and vulnerable.

"You must be Roronoa Zoro. The man who will one day become the greatest swordsman the world has known." Zoro didn't question how she knew who he was and how she knew what his dream was, but simply nodded. Suddenly, the Goddess's face was filled with unbelievable sorrow as she looked at him.

"But if your dream must come true, then you must escape this place. Run away. Far, far away. So far away that no one from here will ever find you. You are in danger. All of you. You must leave. Leave now Zoro, before it is too late."

Zoro merely looked at her wide-eyed. The woman's lips had barely moved. It was as though she was speaking directly into his mind, into his soul. He slowly got up and walked back wards, not caring to see where the wall he had cut down was.

"Zoro, you must speak of me to no one. You must never think of me and you must never reveal that you found this place. Go now. Before He comes. Go now and take your friends. Leave. Leave this place. And never return!"

Zoro swallowed as his hand felt the crumbling edges of the wall. Before he left, he breathed out a single question. A desperate plea to know, to understand.

"Who are you…..?"

The woman merely smiled sadly.

"I am Maya. An illusion. A mere soul trapped in reality for all eternity. Zoro, you must always remember, there is always illusion hidden in reality and reality hidden in illusion." And that was it. The second Zoro stepped out of that garden, he somehow found himself on the other side of what seemed like the door leading to the dining room. Walking in, he was greeted by the loud cheers of his Nakama, a sense of relief flooding over him. His confusion and shock at what he saw, was over run by his joy of finding his Nakama all in one piece. He failed to hear the final warning that passes at the back of his mind.

"_You must leave before it is too late."_

* * *

"_Why the hell is HE here?! Why didn't you tell us?!"_

"_Stop shouting Yagashi! I didn't know!"_

"_But at this rate God knows when things will take a turn for the worst!"_

"_Are you such a coward Yagashi nii toki?!"_

"_Shut up Toki!"_

"_Eh~ Sibling fight?" The room became dead silent at the sound of the silken voice._

"…_. Risela sama."_

"_Fufufufu~ If you are still this incompetent I'll have to get rid of you Yagashi."_

"_F-Forgive me Risela sama."_

"_Well first things first. Have you heard of The Phantasm?"_

"_The Phantasm toki?! You mean the woman who controls all illusions and supernatural phenomena?! The one who knows all and sees all and has infinite powers?!"_

"_Yes that one. Very good Toki."_

"_But what does a myth like The Phantasm have to do with anything?"_

"_And this is where you lack Emir. Do you know what the one who can win over The Phantasm can get?"_

"_Immortal life. And the demon's eyes. Eyes that can see anything, that can know anything, that can devour anything."_

"_That is correct. What else do they get?"_

"_It is but a rumour, a mere myth, but I have heard that one person who won over The Phantasm was able to get the ultimate power toki."_

"_What? Even more than Immortality?!"_

"_That way of thinking is what makes you Naïve you foolish swordsman."_

"…_.. I have heard of it. The gift of Time. The power to manipulate Time without any repercussions."_

"_Exactly Emir. And only one person has ever been known to possess this power." The three looked at the snake-like woman curiously._

"_And his name is King Razhea."_

* * *

A/n: And we have come to the end of Chapter 11. More Razhea :3 Who was the woman Zoro saw? What does Razhea know? What have the Mugiwaras gotten themselves into? I'm planning on revealing a few secrets in the upcoming Chapters.

Oh and just so you know, I shall be updating Chapter 12 right away too. Just cuz I dont wanna lost my train of thought.

That's all~

Please review~

Love~


	12. Chapter 12

A/n: Ok another Chapter! Just cause I feel like writing/typing/whatever~

I am on a writing spree!

Right so as promised, some secrets will be revealed in this Chapter. And there's gonna be a lot more thrill~

Have fun~

Please review~

Love~

* * *

CHAPTER 12

_Recap:_

"_Well first things first. Have you heard of The Phantasm?"_

"_The Phantasm toki?! You mean the woman who controls all illusions and supernatural phenomena?! The one who knows all and sees all and has infinite powers?!"_

"_Yes that one. Very good Toki."_

"_But what does a myth like The Phantasm have to do with anything?"_

"_And this is where you lack Emir. Do you know what the one who can win over The Phantasm can get?"_

"_Immortal life. And the demon's eyes. Eyes that can see anything, that can know anything, that can devour anything."_

"_That is correct. What else do they get?"_

"_It is but a rumour, a mere myth, but I have heard that one person who won over The Phantasm was able to get the ultimate power toki."_

"_What? Even more than Immortality?!"_

"_That way of thinking is what makes you Naïve you foolish swordsman."_

"…_.. I have heard of it. The gift of Time. The power to manipulate Time without any repercussions."_

"_Exactly Emir. And only one person has ever been known to possess this power." The three looked at the snake-like woman curiously._

"_And his name is King Razhea."_

* * *

"Zoro! Stop sleeping and give us a hand!"

"Shut up Usopp. Its not my problem if you're so weak and lazy that you can't even move a couple of stones."

"Hey these things are heavy!" Sighing, Zoro got up and picked up the stone that Usopp was finding so hard to lift, in one hand and walked over to where Bianca was standing.

"So where do I put this?" At the sound of a new voice, Bianca snapped around, ready to yell at the slow and lazy newcomer when her eyes fell on Zoro. She gasped and stumbled back. Zoro caught her before she fell.

"Oi are you okay?"

"Y-You're!"

"Huh?"

"You're Roronoa Zoro! The man who defeated the ultimate swordsman and was deemed worthy of the title 'The Demon Knight'!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oi Zoro what's going on?"

"This girl says I'm some Knight or something."

"Kni-?! BWAAHAHAHHAA! Yeah right! You! A knight! Aaahahhahahaaa!"

"Oi!"

"Eh? Am I wrong?" Bianca looked between Usopp and Zoro in confusion.

"Look kid, I don't know who told you this bull about me being some Knight, but its totally fake. I'm a swordsman not a Knight."

"But you ARE Roronoa Zoro right?"

"So?"

"But then you are the Knight! You defeated Mihwak and were deemed worthy of that title by His Majesty himself! I saw it with my own eyes!" Zoro and Usopp looked at the girl in confusion. Then Usopp asked Bianca if she hadn't maybe mistaken the great Captain Usopp as the Knight and not some stupid green haired swordsman. At that Bianca merely huffed and walked away, saying the Demon Knight wasn't some pathetic cowardly weakling, leaving Zoro guffawing at a sulking Usopp.

* * *

"Ne Bianca, are you sure this is all the information you have about the Sun stones?" Nami asked as she looked up from the book she was reading and at the dark haired girl who shrugged.

"Well yeah. Actually its something that's passed down by word of mouth so we don't have much written information about it."

Nami frowned as she looked at the pile of books she and Robin had finished reading. Bianca had taken them to the Palace's huge library and given them all the books that contained information on the Sunstones or Sun crystals. But of all the books, very few had use-able information and most had hardly one or two paragraphs about it. Robin looked at Bianca and smiled.

"Thank you Bianca, we're sorry for keeping you here so long." Bianca nodded and left the two women to their own thoughts.

"Robin-"

"There definitely is something fishy going on here."

"Eh?"

"Its impossible for gems that are deemed as a national treasure by these people, to have such little information about them. There definitely is something hidden. There's something these people don't want us to know."

"Like what?"

"Don't you find it suspicious, that on an island that doesn't exist at all, where the food and supplies are from different times altogether, these people are fairly well off?"

"Well I guess. I mean they wear pure silk clothes, and jewelry made from silver and these Sun stones." Nami said, fingering the delightfully supple and smooth material. Bianca had given the girls spare clothes to wear after dinner on the first day of their arrival. It had now been five days since Razhea took them in and the Mugiwaras were steadily growing restless. Franky and Usopp kept worrying about Sunny, Chopper had initially been intrigued by the strange medicines the people used, but off late something seemed to be bothering the little doctor. He was constantly restless and on guard. Luffy also had run around and had his share of fun with the people in the castle. Laquarde and Luffy had become fast friends and the two spent hours together talking and goofing around. Brook made sure to keep out of Nami's sight and was on his panty adventure. But the most restless were Zoro and Sanji. Sanji didn't flirt as much or over attend to the girls as much as usual. And Zoro seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. He mostly seemed annoyed or confused. Nami was snapped out of her thoughts by a hand gently tapping her shoulder. She looked up to see Robin's worried face.

"And what about what Usopp told us the other day?"

One day Usopp had suddenly come up to them saying Bianca had called Zoro, The Demon Knight or something and claimed that he had defeated Mihawk and had been deemed worthy by Razhea. That had gotten to Robin and since then the two of them had been looking up information on the Sunstones.

"I'm pretty sure there's a valid explanation to it. The pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together. I don't know if these people are somehow related to the one's who attacked us, but if we solve this mystery, we might draw to some conclusion atleast." Nami nodded as the two stood up and decided to go talk things out with the crew. Nami was extremely sensitive to changes that took place around them, and she had a bad feeling at the pit of her stomach.

* * *

"_You must leave now before it is too late."_

Zoro jerked awake and eyed his surroundings wearily. It had already been four days since that happened and he was still nowhere close to getting everyone to leave. He could sense the feeling of unrest and uncertainty radiating off his Nakama, but he still wasn't sure whether to tell them about Her or not. Nami and Robin had called them together for an emergency decisive meeting and he could tell something was bugging the two girls. Taking a deep breath, he decided it was now or never.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us this before?!" Nami screamed at Zoro who looked away guiltily. The swordsman had suddenly gotten up and started talking. Every word that came from his mouth caused Nami to get more on edge. Something was seriously wrong and they had gotten into the dead centre of the mess.

"The Phantasm…" Robin said, a thoughtful frown on her face. "That explains a lot of things. Like how these people were so well off or their incredible medicines or how Bianca thought Zoro was the Demon Knight. And that's not all. For all we know, this may be the very reason for the state of this island."

"So this Fanta thing is real?" Luffy asked Robin.

"Yes I'm afraid so. And the worst part is there is only one person believed to have won over The Phantasm. If I'm right his name was-" Robin's head shot up as her eyes grew wide. She paled and a sweat bead rolled down her forehead.

"My God…."

"Robin? What is it?" Nami urged her.

"We have to get out of here. We should never have come here. This is horrible. We sho-"

"Robin what's going on?!" Luffy's voice cut through her frantic tirade. She looked at him, fear reflected in her dark eyes.

"The man who won over The Phantasm, the one with the Demon's eyes, his name was King Razhea!" The rest of her Nakama looked at her, as her words sunk in, their eyes slowly widening as realization hit them one by one.

"We have to get out of hea-" Luffy was cut off by a deep voice from behind them. All 9 pairs of eyes snapped to the sound of the all too familiar voice. Nami felt the sense of foreboding climax as he appeared from the shadows.

"I'm afraid its too late for that my friends. I honestly didn't expect you to know so much. But now that you know, you will be dealt with accordingly."

Zoro had his blade at Razhea's throat before anyone could react. But the man merely laughed and waved his hand.

"Oh no, you mistook me. I don't intend to kill you. In fact it's quite the opposite. I want you alive. You'll only be stripped of your freedom to walk around and do as you please."

"What do you intend to do with us?" Nami asked, she had a firm grip on Luffy's arm, keeping the rubber man at bay.

"Oh no. I do not intend to do anything with you. The one who needs you isn't me." Robin's eyes grew wide as she realized what the man was saying. It seemed all the pieces of the puzzle had finally fit together. Just as Robin had suspected, the one's attacking them were related after all.

"Oh no my dear Nico Robin." Robin jumped at the sound of her name. "We aren't simply related,-" The crew watched as Razhea was cloaked in shadows, his body seemed to be warping and changing form. Soon he had shrunk in size and 9 pairs of cautious eyes looked down at the small frail bespectacled man standing in front of them. "-we are one and the same."

* * *

_The three brothers looked at Risela like she had lost her mind. Finally Yagashi found the voice to speak._

"_You're saying… HE is….. Razhea?! The legendary king who stood firm and ruled his people for centuries, until he disappeared forever from the face of the world?!"_

"_Oh no, that would be a mistake by the historians you see. King Razhea disappeared from the face of the world. But that doesn't mean he completely vanished. He simply lived below the surface." Three pairs of incredulous eyes looked on as Risela continued._

"_And you will be happy to know that HE has always been right here, under our very eyes… And feet…." Risela's eyes glinted dangerously as the three brothers gulped._

"_And finally after Centuries of waiting, the Time has come! The Time has come for him to rule the world!"_

* * *

A/n: And Chapter 12 comes to an end. Sorry its a pretty small chapter I guess. Compared to the last two. But I rushed, and I cut down quite a lot of explaining. D:

So I guess next Chapter is back in the I-dunno-when-Imma-post category. Sorry again~

Will get back ASAP~

Please review~

Love~


	13. Chapter 13

A/n: I wanted to write, but I have no idea what I want to write. I'm so clueless right now. So please excuse me if this chapter ends up being total BS. Well ok maybe not total. But ya know.

Love~

* * *

CHAPTER 13

"A~h. I'm so hungry~"

"Luffy just control yourself. We can't do anything since we're tied up."

"But Nami~"

"You guys seem to be having fun." Nami snapped her head towards the voice. Bianca stepped out of the shadows, with a smile on her face and a huge tray of steaming food in her hands. That got Luffy drooling uncontrollably. Once she let herself in and untied all of them, she served the food. The crew hungrily tucked in and soon tray after tray of food was being delivered to satisfy the ravaging pirates.

"So how come you're being nice to us?" Nami asked, as she eyed Bianca wearily.

"Eh? I've always been nice to you though?"

"You know that's not what I mean." Bianca shrugged and slumped against the wall.

"I had no idea about His Majesty. When I heard you had been put in prison, I went to Laquarde to find out what was going on and somehow he ended up telling me whatever he knew about the King."

"Whatever he knew?" Robin asked curiously. Bianca nodded slowly.

"And honestly he didn't know much. He only knew about the Sunstones."

"Eh?! The Sunstones?!" Nami said as she leaned towards Bianca expectantly.

"M-Mm. But, even I'm not sure whether to believe what he said." Robin sat across from Nami and smiled at Bianca.

"We would be glad if you could tell us what you knew." The two women watched as hesitation and uncertainty flickered in the young girl's eyes. Finally she nodded and took a deep breath.

"This will take a while so you might want to get everyone here first."

Once all the Mugiwaras were sitting around Bianca, she started to narrate what she learnt from Laquarde:

_A hundred centuries ago, there was perfect balance between the different worlds and all its creatures. They were all ruled by a single, pure spirit. Every creature from every world revered and loved this being. They believed that this being was the purest and greatest of all creatures. So this being was called The Great One. It is believed that The Great One had no physical form. It was but a spirit with unimaginable powers. It was belief and faith that gave The Great One its strength. But as centuries passed, the creatures began to evolve. Their intelligence began to grow. They slowly started to lose faith in The Great One. But there were still some who believed. And so, due to the difference in belief, a huge war took place between the Believers and the ones who said they were far above the knowledge and simplicity of The Great One. They called themselves, Humans. But after continuous uprising, large-scale war, death and destruction, these Believers and Humans slowly got tired. They started to crave for a world of peace and harmony. But to create such a world, Humans had to believe. And the Humans refused to do so. But even among them, there were some Humans who believed. They tried to change the others, and finally a decision was come to. The Humans said that they would give the Believers a chance to show the power of The Great One. But no matter how much the Believers called to their Great One, it never appeared. Soon what little faith was there was lost. A new era began. An era of discovery and adventure. An era of theory and proof. There was little scope for belief and hope. The Humans ruled all. Every other creature was beneath the Humans. And so a hierarchy was formed with the Humans at the top. They craved power and strength, love and lust, greed and desire. The Humans were never satisfied. Endless desire and want finally drew them insane. Finally they craved for a new reason to live. They craved for hope. They craved for the pure, endless belief that they once possessed. And so, their prayer was answered. They found a new being to believe in. they deemed him superior and great, pure and forgiving, unbelievably powerful yet unfathomably kind. The called him God. Soon different people started to believe in their own versions of God. And of them, the purest and brightest of all, was called The Sun. it is said that once a Human fell into complete darkness, due to his evil and cruel deeds. He begged for forgiveness and to reach the light once again. But The Sun was weary of freeing him completely. But being the kind and forgiving God he was, he gave him a Sunstone. He said that this stone would give him the light he desired. This Human was overjoyed at getting the Sunstone. He was so relieved at being able to live in the light again. But soon he realized he had been tricked. The Sunstone was merely a replacement for the actual light he craved. So he decided to take revenge. With his power and knowledge, he forged countless Sunstones. The flames and light and warmth from them was so brilliant, that even The Sun could no longer keep it in check. And so, this human rose above everything superior and claimed to be the one and only true being. He refused to be called pure or bright or good. He didn't want the status of The Great One or The Sun. He wanted more. Much more. So he gave himself another name. He called himself, The Phantasm. The illusion of belief and trust, truth and lies, happiness and cruelty, death and despair, love and hatred and every other thing that the creatures desired and feared, were all given to them. The Sunstones gave them warmth and light, while The Phantasm slowly sucked away the happiness. In this way, evil and good were balanced once again. But even this had to be challenged. One man, stood against The Phantasm. He was neither good nor bad. Neither pure nor tainted. He didn't love nor hate. He completely neutralized The Phantasm and the Sunstones. And so, unable to overcome him, The Phantasm granted him one wish. This man wanted the same powers as all the Great beings that were worshipped over time. The Phantasm had no choice but to oblige. And as punishment for being the cause of such a man, The Phantasm withdrew itself and placed a curse on the man. He would forever be trapped in Time. He could not die. He would suffer immortality. And to make sure the curse would be kept for eternity, The Phantasm locked itself and the Sunstones within the man. And so he was given the name Razhea. The ever stable and ever suffering._

Everyone was silent as Bianca finished her story.

"That sounds just like one of those myths." Sanji said as he blew out a ring of smoke.

"That is exactly why I said I found it hard to believe. And as far as I remember, the Sunstone has been a symbol of love and bonding, of warmth and trust. Not something as treacherous as trickery and illusion."

"Within illusion lies reality and within reality lies illusion." Zoro breathed. He looked up to meet the understanding eyes of Nami, Robin and Sanji. "That's what she said, before I left. I wonder if this is what she meant."

"I don't understand." Bianca frowned.

"It simply means that the Sunstones that were meant to be illusions, at some point became reality. Just as the reality of The Phantasm's existence became an illusion." Robin said thoughtfully. She turned to look at Bianca.

"Even though you know this, why did you lie to us?" Everyone turned to look between Robin and Bianca in confusion. The girl merely stared into Robin's eyes, as if staring to her very soul. When she spoke, a shiver ran down everyone's spines.

"Very well. I shall tell you then. There is more to the story than just that. It was believed that at some point in time, The Phantasm craved a physical form so much, the it took on the form of the first Human it saw. A beautiful maiden with ivory hair and alabaster skin." Zoro's eyes widened at the description as Bianca continued.

"It was said by some stroke of fate, the man who was called Razhea who had deemed himself as the superior most, laid eyes on The Phantasm by accident. And immediately, he was completely thrown from his unprejudiced and impartial nature and fell in love. He spent centuries trying to convince The Phantasm to be his lover, and after endless persuasion, The Phantasm indeed fell in love with him. They lived simple Human lives; a man named Razhea fell in love with a woman named Maya. Even though they claimed to be superior to all beings, these simple Human emotions brought their downfall. To keep the balance from tipping, Razhea sealed his feelings for Maya along with her in the depths of a void. The Phantasm called herself Maya, a mere illusion, and continued to live in that void for all eternity. But at some point of time it was believed a child was born to her. A baby girl with jet-black hair and violet eyes, to prevent the child to suffer the same fate as her, she begged Razhea to raise her as his own. But he refused. Instead he got his most trusted advisor to raise the child and soon everything fell into place. The balance returned to normal and it were as if the events never occurred. But it was believed that the child was so pure and angelic, she glowed a pure white."

Bianca slowly opened her eyes as she looked at the 9 members sitting around her. She waited for some kind of reaction, and she got one. Robin looked at her and smiled softly.

"Bianca means white in Italian." Bianca smiled slowly.

"Hey you have violet eyes!" Usopp exclaimed.

"And dark hair!" Chopper added.

"Don't tell me yohohoho~" Brook gulped.

Bianca bowed her head and smiled sadly.

"So is your dad good or bad?"

"Luffy!"

"Its okay Nami san, actually Luffy, I believe my father is good. Even with all the impartial nonsense that comes with the story. He has his own way of doing things but he is good." Bianca said as she smiled at the young dark haired man.

"Yosh! Then that means we just have to get out of here after beating a little sense into him right?" Bianca's smile slowly disappeared.

"I'm sorry Luffy but that can't happen. I can not allow you to interfere in the ceremony."

"Ceremony…..?" Zoro asked. Bianca stood up and dusted her white dress.

"You will be waiting here for a while I'm afraid. Once the ceremony is over I will free you." She turned to leave when Sanji spoke up.

"Does Laquarde know? I mean the whole thing about him telling you all this was a lie right." Bianca looked back over her shoulder and shook her head.

"No…." As she left, the sadness in her voice and despair in her eyes didn't fail to be noticed by Luffy.

* * *

"So now what?" Zoro asked as he leaned back against the wall, ready to take a nap.

"Well what can we do? Even though Bianca said what she said, I still don't trust that Razhea guy. I mean he's a little too suspicious."

"I agree with Nami. Looks like we'll just have to suppperrrr break ourselves out of here."

"That won't work. These grills are made from sea stone. Or Sunstone. I'm not even sure anymore." Nami sighed.

"There's no need to be depressed Nami swan~ I'll get us out of here in a second~"

"What can a curlicue like you do."

"What's that Marimo?!"

"Oi oi what's the point of fighting among us?"

"Usopp has a point, it won't solve anything." Chopper said as he hid behind Robin.

"We'll have to do something yohoho~ other wise we'll be in trouble."

"No." everyone stopped and turned to look at Luffy.

"We stay here till that ceremony thing. I don't care about that King guy but we still haven't found the one's who hurt Franky and Sunny." The crew sat silently as they let their Captain's silent rage and impatience fill the silence.

* * *

_She pressed the palm of her hand against the cool surface of the wall, as she mumbled some words. Slowly a light appeared and the barrier disappeared to reveal a beautiful garden. She stepped inside and admired the lush green grass and colourful flowers. Closing her eyes, she let her senses be overcome by the smell of fresh grass mixed with endless scents of countless flowers. She caressed a flower and smiled at the well tended garden._

"_Bianca? Is that you?" At the sound of the voice, Bianca spun around and frowned. The woman standing in front of her smiled. Her eyes sparkling and her entire demeanor radiating warmth and happiness._

"_Look at you, you have grown so."_

"_I am not here to reminisce." The sharp tone of her voice made even herself flinch. Maya smiled again, except this time the corner of her eyes crinkled and the ends of her lips didn't turn up fully. Her sadness was palpable. Yet she merely bowed her head and began to walk away. Bianca followed, her eyes never leaving the silver curls that sparkled against the pearl white clothing, as it swept around her mother's feet. Beautiful, too beautiful. She thought as she followed her towards a small sitting area. She sat across from Maya as the beauty slowly tilted her head up and closed her eyes._

"_It seems the time has finally come."_

"_So it is true?!"_

"_Yes, I am afraid so."_

"_I see." Bianca stood up and walked towards the barrier._

"_Bianca. You know that I love you right." Bianca never stopped to listen, she sighed as she stepped into the warmth of the palace._

"_I know all too well Mother….." A single tear fell down her cheek, as she finally resolved to end this meaningless cycle._

* * *

A/n: Ok so. upcoming chapter will be irregular. i'll eaither post one or two chapters at a time or multiple chapters. And then not post for a long time. But bear with me and patiently wait, cuz I shall do my best to updats ASAP!

Well that's all for now!

See you later~

Love~


	14. Chapter 14

A/n: So I just finished watching Katekyo Hitman Reborn and I fell in love with Colonello and Lal Mirch /

Planning to write a fan fic on them~ Maybe someday later lol~

Well as for this chapter, I'm planning on pushing things fast. And I'm adding a little more suspense~

Hope fully I'll be ending this fic soon~

Hope you all enjoyed it and keep reading! ^~^

Love~

Nb: Hito Hito no Mi: Human Human fruit. A devil fruit that gives animals and objects, human abilities.

* * *

CHAPTER 14

_How many years had it been since he was cursed? How many years ago had he started regretting every decision he ever made? How many years ago was it that he saw her brilliant smiling face? How many years ago was it that he had started to wish he was Human? How many years ago was it, that things used to be so simple? How many years ago was it that he felt any sort of emotion? How many years longer would he have to wait to be rid of this curse? To be freed of being unable to die? To simply watch as the world faded away? How much longer must he suffer? How much longer will this illusion of immortality continue? This curse of life? How much longer….._

"Achoo!"

"Oi Luffy don't tell me you're catching a cold!"

"Shut up Usopp. I'm just hungry."

"Who the hell sneezes when they're hungry?!"

"A~ah~ I wish this stupid ceremony got over already~"

"Stop whining! And anyway why are we the only ones here?! Oi Luffy don't ignore me!" Usopp groaned as he watched his Captain snore. It had been three days since they had been imprisoned. And in those three days, the other Mugiwaras were led out in groups 2. A guard had just come by and taken a screaming Chopper out of the prison, leaving him and Luffy to impatiently wait. Usopp was already starting to wonder what the hell had already happened to their other Nakama. It was extremely worrying that the palace hadn't been turned over yet. Not knowing what else to do, Usopp sighed and slumped back against the wall, going back to worrying about how he was going to get out of this alive.

* * *

"WILL. YOU. STAND. UP."

"But~ I'm so hungry I can't stand~" Luffy whined to a red faced Bianca. After what seemed like hours of waiting, it was finally their turn to be let out of the prison. They had been blindfolded and had already been walking for a good 30 minutes and they didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

"Oi Bianca! Atleast tell us how far we have to walk! Luffy isn't going to stop whining until you feed him!"

"Cheh. We'll be there soon. I can't believe this guy becomes the Pirate King. What the hell." Bianca said as she stalked off, to open the huge stone gates they had arrived at. At her statement both Luffy and Usopp stood up straight.

"Oi Luffy did she just say what I think she did?" Usopp whispered in the direction he thought his Captain was in.

"….."

"Oi Lu-"

"Ok that's enough dilly dallying. Lets go." And once again, they were dragged off along the rough stone path to god knows where. Just when Usopp was about to ask how much farther they had to go, there was a loud creaking sound and a sudden gust of wind knocked the Sniper off his feet. A few steps further, and the nearly forgotten feeling of the sun's warmth on their bodies, and fresh air invited them to continue. Soon they were made to climb up onto a platform of sorts and were untied. Pulling off his blind fold, Usopp squinted into the bright light, letting his eyes adjust. Soon he was scanning his surroundings and wondering where the hell they were.

"Oi Bianca what is this place? Are we even on the same island?!" Bianca merely raised an eyebrow in Usopp's direction, as she continued pouring some clear liquid into a large steel basin. Luffy's low whistle caught the long-nosed man's attention and he turned, only to be met by an absolutely breathtaking view.

Usopp and Luffy were standing on a high platform that had been raised well above the ground and from their view point, they could see for miles around them. On the right was the white sandy beach that they had found all around the island, except this time there were clear pools of water all along the beach. Where the pools ended, lush green plants with beautiful flowers grew. On their left were ruins and stone carvings that led up to a huge bubbling volcano. Once again clear pools of water were scattered around the ruins, except these were boiling and steaming like hot springs. Right in front of them was a large grassy area, that had obviously been cleared from the rest of the forest. About 30 metres from where they stood, the forest continued. Usopp's mouth hung open, as his eyes were drawn to the glittering crystals that littered the ground. The light reflected off of them and threw diamonds of different colours on the nearby rocks, ruins and pools of water. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold.

"Oi Bianca. What's going on. Where are the others?" Luffy's low voice asked beside him. Suddenly whipping his head around, he realized they were the only two other than Bianca who were there.

"I'm afraid your friends are being held in different areas of the island. Two to the north, two to the east, two to the west and you both in the south." As a fore thought she added. "Ah and that little Raccoon dog is helping Peri with her preparations."

"Peri? You mentioned it was that Laquarde guy's pet right?" Usopp asked. Bianca merely nodded and walked away, carrying the basin of clear liquid with her. As the two pirates watched, she slowly spilt the contents around the platform they were standing on and created a circle of clear liquid around them.

"Well then you just have to be good and wait till His Majesty decides it is time." And saying so, the violet eyed girl disappeared.

"Like hell we are!" Luffy yelled and took a running start off the pedestal. Except the next second he was lying on his face right inside the circle Bianca had drawn.

"What the hell?!" He got up and punched the air in front of him, only to find his fist collide with an invisible wall that pulsed with electricity.

"Oi Luffy look out that's electric current!" And just as he said it, Usopp realized he was talking to Luffy, who was a natural neutralizer of electricity. Slumping to the ground, he took his head in his hands and groaned.

"Agh now what. All of us have been split up and we can't even go looking for them 'cause some invisible barrier thing is surrounding us." Usopp wondered if the others were in the same condition they were. If what Bianca said was true, then they had to be in four corners of the island. And he remembered Luffy and he were in the south. Meaning….

"Oi Luffy! Come here!" Luffy just called back to Usopp, as he continued pounding into the invisible barrier.

"Luffy! Come here and stretch your neck! You might be able to find Sunny!" That got the raven-haired man's attention, and Luffy stretched his neck and looked around to see if he could spot their ship.

"Owh! There she is!" He yelled happily.

"Yosh." As Luffy continued yelling and calling to Sunny, Usopp sat down with a thoughtful look and decided to plan a course of action.

_So Sunny is right here. Which means if we can somehow get out of this barrier, we can go to Sunny and find that spare snail thing that Franky left on board. Then we might be able to find out where the rest are and decide what to do. So now the only problem is, how are we going to get out of this barrier….._

As if on cue, the bushes closest to the platform rustled. Immediately Usopp sprang to his feet and Luffy took on a defensive stance beside him.

"Who's there?"

No answer.

More rustling.

"If you don't come out I'll beat you up!"

No answer.

"Oi Luffy, what's the point of scaring them off before they show themselves?!"

"Come out!" Luffy yelled again.

Finally a pair of long legs and a golden head bobbed into sight.

"He it you!" Usopp said as he relaxed.

At the sight of the person Luffy laughed and ran to the edge of the circle.

"Where the hell did you disappear to?! Laquarde!"

The blonde grinned brightly, as he stepped into the clearing. He walked up to the ruins and bent down. A minute later he stopped in front of the barrier and poured sand over the spot where the clear circle joined. Suddenly there was a column of electricity surrounding them and just as suddenly it disappeared.

"Uwoo! How did you do that?! Do it again! Again!" Luffy cheered. The Prince laughed and dusted his hands.

"Maybe later. Right now shouldn't you be more worried about your friends?"

"You know where they are?!"

"Yep." Laquarde rummaged in his tunic for a minute before stretching out his hand towards Luffy. "This is what you wanted right?" The two pirates looked at the small round object in the blonde's hand.

"H-How?!" Usopp spluttered as Luffy exclaimed and took the small device.

"You have a snail kun too!"

"Well actually your shipwright told me where to find it. But it was a serious pain to avoid all those traps around your ship."

"Oh that was Usopp's idea! Shishishishishi~" The Prince grinned at Usopp and flashed a thumbs up.

"Good one." While Usopp sheepishly rubbed his nose, Luffy and Laquarde fist bumped and the three decided to go looking for the rest of the Mugiwaras.

And so, the trio decided that they would first head west, where the girls were held captive. According to what Laquarde said, after the Mugiwaras had been thrown in prison, he had been kept under constant watch. But suddenly Bianca had come up to him and told him some things that he had to do. So the Prince had headed east and helped free the Cyborg Shipwright and the Undead Musician. Franky had then explained where Sunny and the device was and Laquarde had come to free Luffy and Usopp. Franky and Brook had said they'd take care of the Cook and Swordsman, which left them with Chopper and the girls. Laquarde explained that like Chopper, his bird Peri had also eaten the Hito Hito no mi and the two had been given the task of brewing that clear liquid that formed the barrier. It was apparently made from the purest form of the Sunstone called Sun crystal.

"Peri and Chopper should have found the girls by now." Laquarde said, as they hid behind the line of trees that surrounded the western pedestal. It looked exactly the same as the one Luffy and Usopp had been made to stand on, except it was surrounded by white sand and clear pools on one side, and cages of huge insects on the other. Laquarde pointed to a spot right in front of the cages where a small creature with a large hat was fiddling with the locks.

"Chopper!" Luffy and Usopp yelled. Chopper's head snapped up at the sound of their voices and he suddenly started waving and running towards them. Usopp and Luffy ran towards the little doctor as well, failing to notice the frantic look in his eyes, and the words he was screaming.

"What's that?!" Luffy asked, a few feet away from him,

"RUNNNNNNN!" And with that, the two mean spun around and the three pirates ran for their lives, with huge carnivorous insects hot on their heels.

"This way!" Laquarde yelled and directed them into a small opening just behind the final line of trees. As the three Nakama sat huffing and puffing, a familiar voice spoke behind them.

"Well trust these idiots to ruin the plan and almost get themselves eaten alive."

"Nami! The Captain and Sniper yelled, as a pissed carrot haired woman appeared from the shadows.

"Fufufufufu~ Its good to seem them up and about."

"And Robin too!" The three Mugiwaras gathered around the two girls, all of them talking at once, until Nami punched the three males and caused them to shut up. The whole time, the Prince watched their antics with amused eyes and laughed at the bumps blooming on the males' heads. When everyone was settled down, the young blonde started:

"I'm not sure what Bianca told you, but Father plans on using you for some weird ceremony. But before that I guess you guys have something else to do?" Luffy frowned, while Usopp and Chopper gulped and the girls looked solemn.

"Well I'll be helping you with that! I'm pretty sure you don't know where their hide out is right? So I can lead you to them. They should be scattered around the island looking for you guys, so we should bump into them easily enough. Oh and we'll be splitting up here. It would be best for the girls and the Raccoon dog to head back to your ship. And the three of us can go look for the rest of your friends."

"W-Wouldn't it b-be better if the great C-Captain Usopp Sama went with them to the ship?" Usopp stuttered, as his knees rattled.

"Actually for once I agree." Nami said, her hands on her hips. "If those insects were to come after us again, it would be better for a long range fighter like Usopp to help guard the ship. Of course me and Robin will help too." She added, at the look of pure terror on Usopp's face. Chopper adjusted his cap.

"And I want to make sure Franky's wounds haven't opened up. Its been three days since I tended to him." Laquarde nodded.

"Yosh lets go then!" Luffy stretched and started to walk out. Suddenly he was attacked by a mass of feathers and fell over.

"Peri!" Chopper and Nami exclaimed as Laquarde tried to untangle the bird from Luffy.

"Shishishishishi~ So this guy's Peri! He's hu~ge!" The toucan settled down beside Laquarde and looked around. Pushing her glasses up she said.

"Well if we're ready, shall we head out rawk?"

"Oi don't parrots say rawk?"

"Usopp don't be mean. All birds say rawk. Isn't that right Peri chan?"

"Actually no. I just prefer to say it, rawk." Nami grumbled about stupid confused birds while the others guffawed.

Soon they split up, with Robin, Nami, Usopp and Peri going south towards Sunny and Luffy, Chopper and Laquarde going east towards Sanji and Zoro. Suddenly the transcommunication device in Luffy's hand started to vibrate and when he held it up, a blue head appeared.

"Franky?" Luffy called excitedly, but his smile dropped when he saw his Shipwright's face.

"What happened?!" Franky barely seemed conscious. Blood was pouring down his face and he had one eye shut to prevent it from going into his eye. Behind him there was a lot of smoke and dust and Brook's cane came in and out of the frame as the skeleton defended against a horde of hooded creatures.

"Luffy. Where are the girls?! You have to get out of here! These things… they're too powerful.. we can't… win…. You have …to leave. Take Sunny… and get out… of here…"

"Franky what are you saying?! There's no way I'm leaving you guys behin-"

"YOU DON'T GET IT!" Luffy flinched as Franky shouted. The cyborg breathed harshly and continued.

"You don't stand a chance alone." Luffy's eyes widened.

"Oi what are you-"

"They got Zoro."

* * *

_All he could see was red. one second he saw Franky and Brook running towards them, the next second they were surrounded by a column of electricity and before he knew it, there was a rod jutting out from his chest just below where his heart was. He vaguely remembered collapsing. He didn't feel any pain at all. All he heard was the painful sound of his heart beating. Proof that he was still alive. He heard someone move next to him and then a blurry image of dirty blonde hair and an annoying curled eyebrow came into view. The person was screaming something, but he was too tired to try to understand. He felt something warm and wet fall on his cheek._

_"Heh. The bastard's crying. Serves him right."_

_His mind reprimanded him for thinking like that, but he was too tired to care. All he wanted was a nice drink and a good nap. But every time he shut his eyes, something slapped him awake. Ah so annoying. What does this asshole want. Can't he see he's tired? That he just wants to sleep? Fine. He decided to at least try and understand what the guy was screaming at him so desperately. But he was too tired. He closed his eyes. He saw Her face. Ah. Now he knew what the man was screaming. The Goddess seemed to be repeatedly screaming the same thing._

_"Zoro!"_

* * *

A/n: Okay~ I'm especially satisfied with this chapter :3

Got some good stuff! Well this is what actually happened in my nightmare. Remember how I said I wrote this fic on a nightmare I got? So Zoro dies in my nightmare. Oops was that a spoiler? Gyahahahahha gomenne~ 8D

Well stay tuned~ Imma update the next Chapter right away too~

Love~


	15. Chapter 15

A/n: Yosh! And here is Chapter 15! 15 chapters up! I never imagined I'd write this much! :') Thank you all for reading!

Well more suspense and what not coming up~

Keep reading!

Love~

* * *

CHAPTER 15

_Recap: _

_Suddenly the trans communication device in Luffy's hand started to vibrate and when he held it up, a blue head appeared._

"_Franky?" Luffy called excitedly, but his smile dropped when he saw his Shipwright's face._

"_What happened?!" Franky barely seemed conscious. Blood was pouring down his face and he had one eye shut to prevent it from going into his eye. Behind him there was a lot of smoke and dust and Brook's cane came in and out of the frame as the skeleton defended against a horde of hooded creatures._

"_Luffy. Where are the girls?! You have to get out of here! These things… they're too powerful.. we can't… win…. You have …to leave. Take Sunny… and get out… of here…"_

"_Franky what are you saying?! There's no way I'm leaving you guys behin-"_

"_YOU DON'T GET IT!" Luffy flinched as Franky shouted. The cyborg breathed harshly and continued._

"_You don't stand a chance alone." Luffy's eyes widened._

"_Oi what are you-"_

"_They got Zoro."_

* * *

"OI ZORO! WAKE UP! DON'T YOU DARE FALL SLEEP! OPEN YOUR EYES! STAY WITH ME! ZORO!"

Sanji's strangled cries echoed across the large empty space, which had now turned into a battlefield. He cussed loudly and tried to move, but the pain in his leg was unbearable. He had no idea what had happened but one second he was standing and yelling at Marimo and the next second, he was a crumpled heap, his mind screaming from the excruciating pain in his left leg. He was sure his bone had been completely shattered. His swollen leg painfully pushed against the tightness of his pant, as he once again tried to maneuver himself to Zoro's side. If his situation was bad, Zoro was in worse shape. The swordsman was lying on his side with a long sharp edged rod sticking out of his chest. Blood was everywhere. Sanji knew if he pulled out the rod, it would only serve to worsen his condition, so he tried to keep the swordsman awake without moving him much. He heard Franky yelling something into that round device and he saw Brook faltering in his steps, as he endlessly defended against the hooded figures.

Sanji didn't know what to do. Their situation was going from bad to worse. And just when they thought nothing could get worse, Brook's sword collided with one of the hooded figure's neck and sliced it clean off. As they watched, the cut appendage dissolved and a new head replaced the old one. This only proved that these creatures couldn't be killed. Franky was completely beaten up. He could barely fight with his still recovering body and he'd already lost too much blood. Sanji prayed that the girls were safe. He suddenly gasped at the intense pain that shot up from his leg. Clenching his teeth, he ripped the leg of his expensive suit pant, from the bottom. This eased his swelling leg some of its pain, but still the sirens continued to blare in his head. Instead he concentrated on keeping Zoro awake. But he could see the swordsman steadily giving in to the tiredness and sleep.

Zoro and Sanji were the first to have been led out of the prison. They had been made to stand on that platform for three whole days. The small quantity of measly food left for them was barely enough to satiate two fully-grown men. They were weak from hunger and their strength had been sapped from having to stand for three days. He wailed helplessly as he watched Zoro smirk and finally give in to the tiredness. Scorching tears fell down his cheeks as he howled to the sky. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Brook losing to the hooded figures. Franky was trying hard to breathe. Sanji felt a sense of complete dread and helplessness overcome him. He had never felt so weak, so vulnerable, so afraid. _Not since that incident._ His weak mind swam around the past, when he was stranded on that island, when he almost died from starvation, when they were attacked on Sabody Archipilego, when they were separated and sent to unknown places. He saw Nami and Robin's crying faces and his mind finally broke. He felt his body thud against the ground, his head painfully cracking against it. He tasted the salty wetness and chose to ignore the pain that burned his leg. He took one last look at Zoro's peaceful face. _Shitty Marimo died before me._

* * *

Luffy's heart rammed again and again against his chest as he sped through the forest. He could hear Laquarde yelling at him, telling him to slow down. But instead he sped up. His legs burned at the immense speed he was running at, sweat pouring down his face. He gritted his teeth as he tried to take shallow breaths from in between them. He could see Franky's hysterical face, as the cyborg begged them to escape. He could hear the panic and desperation in his own voice as he watched the man of steel collapse. He could only watch helplessly as Brook was cut down by the enemies. And he still didn't know what had happened to Zoro. What had Franky meant when he said "They got Zoro."? There's no way that stubborn, arrogant, monster of a swordsman could have been taken down. Luffy bit down the scream that wanted to escape him, as he pushed his legs to run faster. Soon he saw a light breaking through the trees. Almost there. Almost. Any second now. Any second. He crashed through the final line of trees as his feet ran towards his Nakama. Punching and kicking away the hooded figures, he reached Brook. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he continued the skeleton's assault on the enemy. He could hear Chopper's scream as he rushed to Franky. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of green and gold. _Is that…_

"SANJI!"

And then he exploded. The wave of power surging around him, as the blood shot to his head. His chest heaving from his harsh breathing, as he stood firm and glared at those hooded creatures. In an instant they all started collapsing one after the other around them. Brook fell weakly to the ground.

"Emperor's haki. Yohohoho it really makes you weak in the knees." He croaked as he looked up at his Captain.

Luffy's face was thrown into shadow by the sun shining directly behind him. Even to a skeleton with no eyes, Luffy looked like an Angel who had flown to their rescue. Sighing in relief, he fell back against the hard ground.

"Brook! Are you alright?!"

"Perfectly fine Luffy san. Never better." Was the mumbled answer.

Satisfied that his musician and swordsman wasn't gravely wounded, Luffy rushed over to where Laquarde and Chopper had moved Sanji and Zoro.

"Oi Chopper how bad is i-" His breath caught in his throat as he looked down at his cook and first mate.

"… Zoro….?" Luffy called weakly. His eyes bulged at the rod that was impaling him. Sanji's state was no better. His left foot was the size of an elephant's leg. His face was contorted in pain and tearstains were visible on his cheeks. Luffy's legs buckled under him and he fell with a thud to the ground. He barely registered the sharp pain in his knees from the sudden impact. Laquarde was helping Franky rebandage himself, while Chopper was tying Sanji's leg to a plank of wood. Soon the little doctor had sawed the rod free and after administering the special medicines of Laquarde's people, he securely bandaged the wound. The little reindeer man sniffled loudly and angrily wiped away the tears flowing down his face. He wouldn't forgive them. For hurting his Nakama like this, he wouldn't forgive them.

"Chopper?" Luffy's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned to look at his Captain. The lanky man's straw hat was kept un attended next to him, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Chopper gulped at the immense pain and anguish he saw in Luffy's eyes. He knew that rage would soon replace those feelings. Luffy would hunt them all of them down and wouldn't be satisfied till he had them beaten up and thrown at his feet. But for now, Chopper gave him the bravest smile he could muster and nodded reassuringly.

"It's a miracle Zoro isn't dead. That rod was millimeters away from his heart and just missed his lungs. He really is lucky."

"That was no miracle." Luffy said slowly, as he crushed his beloved straw hat on his head.

"Didn't you listen to what that King guy said? He wanted us alive. But he never said anything about leaving us in one piece." Luffy suddenly turned to face Laquarde.

"Is your father a good person or not. I'll decide whether to kill him based on your answer."

As Laquarde looked into the eyes of the man who would become Pirate King, he finally realized why his Father had chosen these people. The anger that radiated off of Luffy, was proof of his love for his Nakama. He remembered a long forgotten saying that the Pirate King had said to him in another time. _Nakama are family. _He had said. _And family are forever. _A gentle smile spread across his face as he closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"I am afraid, that that is something you must decide on your own." He heard the shuffling of feet as Luffy walked away.

"Fair enough." The unsaid words hung thick in the air.

"But if he's bad. I will kill him."

* * *

_Hysterical laughter filled the huge hall as the bulky man walked in. his eyes wandered around, until they rested on the four people in the room. _

"_You should have seen their faces! The complete despair and pain! It was beautiful toki!" He cackled evilly as he threw his arms high with a triumphant smile on his face. But instead of acknowledging his feat, his two brother seemed to be scared shitless._

"_What is it?! Why aren't you celebrating with me?!"_

"_So this is him." The low voice caused Toki to snap his head in the direction of a lone armchair. Its owner was thrown into shadow, his lean body looked far too small for the large arm chair. _

"_And who are you toki?" The man simply smiled and motioned for Risela. _

"_Yes My Lord." The two brothers flinched and closed their eyes as they heard the crunching and screaming._

"_This is a lesson for those foolish enough to do as they please." Yagashi and Emir bowed and scampered out of the room._

"_Dispose of that body. The very sight of it makes me sick."_

"_Yes My Lord."_

_The time had finally come. Finally he could get what he wanted._

"_Finally." He grinned as he saw the boy with the Straw-hat walking towards the castle. "Finally."_

* * *

A/n: Was it too fast? :/

'Cause I thought it kind of was. Well whatever. More in the next chapter! SO STAY TUNED!

Love~


	16. Chapter 16

A/n: Ok if you thought the last two chapters happened too fast, the next few will probably fly by. I honestly want to finish it soon :/ Is it just me or is it getting too long? Meh whatever. More stuff here~

Keep reading~

Love~

* * *

CHAPTER 16

_When he opened his eyes, he found himself looking up at a tall tree. He watched the light playing in between the leaves as the wind rustled through them. He smelt the scent of a thousand flowers and the warmth of the soft grassy ground made him sigh in content. There was something familiar about this place. Something very endearing yet captivating. A light laugh made him turn his head to look for its source. Ah. There she was, in all her pearl white glory. Maya smiled down at him, kindness and warmth enveloping him. She raised her hand to touch his cheek and instead of the same kind warmth, he felt a sharp coldness. His eyes widened as he slowly sat up. Her smile wavered only slightly at his rejection to her touch._

"_Is this a dream…? I'm pretty sure I died back there." _

_Maya sighed and raised her face towards the sky._

"_It seems you forget what I have told you. Within reality lies illusion and within illusion lies reality." She said as she once again turned to look at him._

"_So this is a dream….. But it's real…..?" The corner of her eyes crinkled, as her delightful laughter rang in the air._

"_Who ever said that dreams are not real? They maybe illusions created by the mind, but that doesn't make them any less real my dear swordsman. After all without dreams, there is no reality." He let the weight of her words sink in, as he too leaned against the tree and looked towards the sky._

"_So I didn't die after all." He stated, rather than questioned. Maya caught the slight hesitation in his voice._

"_Well, I suppose that is a choice left to you." He looked at her wide-eyed, like a child seeing a new toy._

"_You mean…. I can choose to live?" Maya's tinkling laughter mixed with the soft breeze that made the leaves rustle._

"_Of course! It is your life! Why can you not be allowed to choose whether to live it or not?" She smiled fondly at him. He looked slightly offended for being treated like a child._

"_Well I was sure I was dead."_

"_What would your Nakama think if you died?" That question caught him off guard. _

_"What would your Captain think if you broke the promise you made to him? What would Sanji think if you were to recklessly throw away your life? What would the others think?" _

_He had never thought about that. That's right. He had promised Luffy he would make him the Pirate King. He saw the smiles of the others and couldn't help but grin himself. He'd get a nice beating from Franky and Sanji and maybe even Chopper for scaring them. He laughed out loud, surprised at how carefree and happy he sounded. He grinned at Maya who returned his grin with a genuine smile._

"_Then what the hell am I sill doing here?!"_

"_Why you can leave whenever you want to. I haven't stopped you from leaving have I.?"_

"_Oi oi." Maya laughed again as she stood up with him. Stretching her arms out, she gently drew his face closer and placed a soft kiss on his fore head._

"_Be brave Zoro. Like the man the world knows you are. Knowing fear does not make you weak, but helps you in the journey to become stronger. Believe in your dreams and the dreams of your Nakama, for dreams are your reality in this harsh world. Without your dreams your are merely an empty soul. Love your life, as others would Zoro. Never throw it away, for that would bring them despair and sadness. And always remember to believe in the people you have grown to love and understand. Live, Zoro." He watched as she drew farther away from him, taking the light along with her. He was soon left in darkness, but a sudden familiar voice, caused him to crack open his one good eye. He shamelessly grinned back at the relieved faces looking down at him. Yes, he decided, he definitely wanted to live._

* * *

"ZORO'S AWAKE!" Luffy shrieked as he jumped around. Zoro slowly tried to sit up and immediately winced by the sharp pain in his chest.

"Zoro don't move so much! You're wounds are barely healed!"

"You worry too much Chopper! Just look at him, he's as fit as a fiddle!"

"Usopp's right Chopper! Why don't you go take a break? You've been tending to our wounds this entire time."

"But Nami!"

"Go!" Nami pushed the little doctor towards the sleeping quarters. Chopper looked back uncertainly but from the urging looks of Nami and Usopp, he sighed and decided he needed some rest at least.

* * *

Lets go back a couple of hours, to when Luffy decided he was going to avenge his Nakama:

"Luffy!" Luffy spun around at the sound of the very familiar voice. _Why was she here?!_ He watched as Nami, Robin and Usopp ran up to him, his feeling of dread steadily escalating with every inch they grew closer.

"WHY DID YOU COME HERE?!" Nami and the others stopped short, the relieved smiles fading from their faces, at the sharp yell of their Captain.

"Oi Luffy there's no need to be so angry. We got Franky's message too so we came to help." Usopp said cautiously. Nami looked hesitantly at Luffy's tightly clenched fists. It had been a long time since she had seen the jolly boisterous man so angry.

"It was my idea to bring them here. I never expected for something like this to happen. I'm so sorry."

Luffy's head snapped up to look at the person who spoke. Bianca seemed to shrink under his piercing gaze. Then suddenly, Luffy spun on his heel and walked back to where Chopper was tending to the others. He perched himself atop a rock and crossed his arms, his hat covering his eyes. He simply listened to the others' decision and helped carry Zoro's stretcher when they decided to return to Sunny. As soon as he saw food though, his anger completely forgotten, he hungrily gobbled it all up. That led to a change in mood and since Brook was feeling better, they sang and made merry. Of course all the racket woke Franky and Sanji up and the second they opened their eyes, they tried to move about. This sent Chopper on a rampage and Nami and Usopp just added fuel to the fire. Laquarde as usual, was highly amused with their antics and even Bianca had a good bit of fun with Robin's side comments. And that all led to Zoro finally waking up, which was another cause for celebration.

So the Mugiwaras, along with Laquarde, Peri and Bianca, sang and danced [of course Chopper kept an eye on the patients.] and made merry, in an attempt to forget everything that happened and was to happen on this island. The partying lasted late into the night, until Chopper shooed everyone to bed, saying the patients needed rest. But the little doctor failed to notice a green-haired man sneak out in the dead of night. Zoro leaned against the railing and took in a deep breath. His wounds barely hurt as much as they were supposed to. He suspected it had something to do with the strange medicines Bianca had brought and his strange silver-haired visitor. He let his eye close, as he breathed in the smell of the sea. It was good to be back on the ocean he had got used to, than that stuffy underground prison. A sudden sound made his eye snap open and he stiffened, a hand involuntarily reaching for Kitetsu. But when he saw a blonde head sticking out of the door, to make sure no one was there, he relaxed and closed his eye again.

"Don't worry Ero-cook, I wont tell on you."

"Shut up shitty Marimo." The retort lacked the usual spirit and irritation. Zoro opened an eye and jerked back at the face right in front of him.

"What the hell?!"

"Shh don't make such a ruckus or they'll wake up." Zoro cussed softly and got back into his regular sleeping position. Sanji settled down beside him and lit a cigarette. As he exhaled, he too closed his eyes and let himself relax. The medicine Bianca had given them had worked miracles. Every second, Sanji felt the tension and pain leaving his body. He pulled his crutch close to him and sighed. The two mean sat silently, as they listened to the waves splashing against the side of the ship, causing it to gently bob up and down. It was like nature's lullaby and the two tired men slowly drifted off. Each thanking whatever God was listening to them, for the other's warmth next to him.

* * *

"Why the hell are they sleeping out here?!"

"Oi Chopper calm down! They probably felt more comfortable on the lawn than inside."

"Shut up Usopp that makes no sense! It was freezing last night!"

"Fufu so I guess it was a good thing I accidently happened to find them and cover them with a blanket."

"Robin~!"

"Well I'm sorry Sensei, but they looked so happy that I simply didn't have the heart to wake them up."

"Eh~ Does it matter~ As long as their ok!"

"IT DOES!" Chopper fumed at a laughing Luffy, as Usopp and Robin tried to calm him. But all the noise woke the two men up and they looked around, wondering what was going on.

"Why the hell am I sharing a blanket with curly brow?!

"I should be the one saying that you national treasure!"

"Hah?! What was that?! You wanna fight Ero-cook?!"

"Come at me shitty swordsman!"

Nami simply leaned over the railing and smiled at her Nakama. Even though they had gone through a horrible experience the previous day, for some reason it didn't affect them as much as the first time. It was as if someone had sucked away the fear, tiredness and anger from them and left them with the usual bubbling feeling of togetherness. She looked up at the sky and shielded her eyes with her hand. A soft breeze rustled through her hair and she couldn't help but wonder:

_Maybe there is a Guardian Angel looking after us after all._

And somewhere far, far away, a beautiful silver-haired woman smiled to herself.

* * *

A/n: And CUT! Yosh, tiny chapter. I just liked the first bit lol. The rest I just sped along. As you can see, the story is nearing its end! HUZZAH! BANZAII! And whatever else xD

Well There will probably be atleast 20 chapters no worries -thumbs up- [Actually I have a feeling it'll go over 20 ."]

I've already started on another fanfic. Its called "The Dark Knight and The Fallen Angel". Coll name huh? huh? -wink-

I thought I'll let you guys know about that~ I'm also planning on writing a short fic on Colonello x Lal like I mentioned before. Maybe add some Reborn x Luce 3 Who knows! Its a big world! OH AND VERY IMPORTANT! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES! You guys are awesome :')

That's all for now~

Stay tuned for more~

Love~


	17. Chapter 17

A/n: Well I'm baack~! Sorry for the extreme delay My exams are finally over! BANZAAAI! So here I am, with an aim of finishing this fan fic in the next 2-3 days. I was so drawn away, that I had to re-read the entire story just to fall in line again Ha~ah. Anyway I want to thank you all once again for all the Follows and favorites! You guys are reely awesome :') 3 I hope we'll make it to the end together and that more people will join us in our journey to find out the truth~ -feels wise and important- xD Well getting back to the story~ I decided everyone healed too quickly for my liking. [Yes I'm a sadist you didn't realize?] So I decided to add some more twists and turns. More excitement coming up!

Too long a note ==

Well stay tuned~

Love~

* * *

_Re-cap:_

"_Why the hell are they sleeping out here?!"_

"_Oi Chopper calm down! They probably felt more comfortable on the lawn than inside."_

"_Shut up Usopp that makes no sense! It was freezing last night!"_

"_Fufu so I guess it was a good thing I accidently happened to find them and cover them with a blanket."_

"_Robin~!"_

"_Well I'm sorry Sensei, but they looked so happy that I simply didn't have the heart to wake them up."_

"_Eh~ Does it matter~ As long as their ok!"_

"_IT DOES!" Chopper fumed at a laughing Luffy, as Usopp and Robin tried to calm him. But all the noise woke the two men up and they looked around, wondering what was going on._

"_Why the hell am I sharing a blanket with curly brow?!_

"_I should be the one saying that you national treasure!"_

"_Hah?! What was that?! You wanna fight Ero-cook?!"_

"_Come at me shitty swordsman!"_

_Nami simply leaned over the railing and smiled at her Nakama. Even though they had gone through a horrible experience the previous day, for some reason it didn't affect them as much as the first time. It was as if someone had sucked away the fear, tiredness and anger from them and left them with the usual bubbling feeling of togetherness. She looked up at the sky and covered her eyes with her hand. A soft breeze rustled through her hair and she couldn't help but wonder:_

_Maybe there is a Guardian Angel looking after us after all._

_And somewhere far, far away, a beautiful silver-haired woman smiled to herself._

* * *

CHAPTER 17

Zoro crossed his arms and leaned back against the wide mast of Sunny as he sat watching the various activities around him. As much as he wanted to move around, his wound was being a pain in the ass and so was Chopper. He watched Nami as she yelled at a poker faced Usopp and a whistling Franky for using up all the stones she had collected, to make a cannon. Robin was helping Chopper fit all his herbs into his small blue backpack and Sanji swooned over Bianca, who simply ignored him and listened to Luffy and Laquarde talk animatedly. Brook seemed to be content with tuning his violin and humming to himself.

Zoro sighed and closed his eye. The second he did so; he was once again filled with a feeling that something was amiss. He had had that feeling since waking up a day ago, but wasn't able to place the cause for it. He simply assumed that the previous days' happenings had taken a toll on him, especially since he nearly lost his life. But he simply couldn't stop the prick of discomfort at the back of his mind.

Sighing, he slowly stood up and wandered to the left side of Sunny. Leaning against the railing very lightly, so as to not aggravate his wound, he eyed the line of the forest. No one had bothered to come after them for the past day and a half and even though his Nakama didn't show it, he knew it was getting to them.

Nami was especially cautious to make sure Luffy and the others didn't make too big a commotion, Sanji made sure he cooked food that didn't emit visible smoke or steam, Chopper, Brook and Usopp were constantly on guard for the slightest sounds, Franky had been busy making new weapons and turning Sunny into battle-mode, Even Robin seemed to be on edge, even though her poker face and ever-present smile didn't show it. The only person, who seemed like he was free from tension, was their ever-laughing Captain. Luffy had been occupying himself by amusing Laquarde and Bianca. Though the latter only seemed to watch the raven-haired man's antics with contempt.

Surveying the area once again, Zoro was about to return to his seat around Sunny's mast when a loud RAWK! Sounded and he was thrown to the floor by a bundle of feathers. Coughing and spluttering, Zoro raised his head to see a huge colourful bird sitting on the seat next to Laquarde. The Straw hats gathered around the bird, laughing and talking to it with amusement. Grumbling, Zoro got to his feet and took a step towards them.

Suddenly his entire body was paralyzed. He couldn't feel his arms or legs, let alone move them. His heart started racing, as though he was running a marathon and his body was covered with a thin film of sweat. He gritted his teeth and grunted, trying to gain control of his body. His vision started to blur, as he looked at his Nakama barely a few feet away. They were all too consumed in talking to the bird to notice he hadn't joined them yet. He opened his mouth, in order to alert them, but no matter how he tried his voice wouldn't leave him. His chest heaved, as the wound he had got the previous day re-opened and the pain slammed into him, causing him to fall to his knees. In a desperate attempt to alert the rest, he looked around for some means to get their attention.

And his eyes met a pair of violet eyes, looking at him with contempt and amusement. At first he hoped she would alert them, but then the back of his neck prickled and the familiar sense of foreboding settled over him. He watched as her mouth turned upwards in a slow, menacing smile, as she stalked towards him. Realizing the danger he was in, he tried one last time to alert the rest of his Nakama. But he felt the air rush out of his lungs, as a fist connected with his wound.

Ear splitting sirens screamed in Zoro's head, his eyes blood shot, his green coat turning dark from his blood. The last thing he saw before he passed out was a pair of bloodthirsty violet eyes, as a psychotic laugh rung through his fumbled mind.

* * *

"Ahahahaha! Who would have thought Peri could get one of those badass wasps?!" Luffy laughed as he listened to the multi coloured toucan relate her latest adventure. As the others joined in, he looked around at their relieved faces from the much-needed distraction. Realizing they were missing one person, he turned around and called out to his first mate-

"Oi Zoro! Come listen to how-" the rest of his sentence died in his throat as he looked down at the green haired swordsman, sprawled across Sunny's lawn deck, which was getting stained by the steady flow of Zoro's blood. A tremor swept through Luffy's body as his eyes travelled upwards to the person standing over Zoro. He balled up his fists, his eyes growing wild and a snarl escaping his bared teeth as he lunged towards Bianca.

As she sidestepped his attack at the last minute, Luffy rammed into the opposite side of Sunny. He could hear the commotion behind him as the others turned to see what was going on. As Luffy spun around and glared at Bianca, the deck was dead silent. Everyone looked at each other in confusion and then at Zoro lying on the grass and Bianca and Luffy who were now circling each other. Time seemed to slow down as the two slowly paced around in a large circle until Luffy stood beside Zoro and Bianca had a hand on Sunny's edge. The world seemed to stand still, as Luffy hissed, still bent low and ready to attack.

Then just as suddenly, the world sprung into motion as Nami's bloodcurdling scream filled the air along with Bianca's maniacal laughter. He watched as Sanji and Chopper sped past him and tried to attack Bianca. She merely dodged their attacks and flipped over the edge of the ship. Luffy and the others rushed to the edge and watched as the girl sped away, her long dark hair billowing behind her.

The second she disappeared behind the line of trees, Nami sunk to her knees and shuddered. Sanji whipped around and stomped over to where Laquarde was sitting, wide-eyed. Grabbing him by his collar, the cook shook him vigorously.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?! I thought you guys were on our side!" The Blonde Prince merely stared at him open-mouthed, too shocked to speak. Behind him Peri squawked and flew upwards.

"And so 'tis true! Pirates are naught but fools! To believe the daughter of your enemy was your friend! Your foolishness knows no bounds!" Before Sanji could react, a fiery arrow zoomed past him as Usopp said 'Hissatsu midori boshi: Fire Bird star!' and then Peri dodged the attack and flew towards the forest.

Laquarde slumped to the floor as he stared at his trembling hands. And then he opened his mouth and started laughing, his laughter rising in volume until he had thrown his head back and was guffawing at the sky. Afraid he had lost his mind, the others tried to restrain him, but the blonde suddenly snapped back and stared the rest of them, his mouth pressed in a tight line.

"Looks like we were played for fools."

Everyone eyed Laquarde wearily as he stood up and dusted his light pants. He tilted his chin towards Zoro and said-

"T'would be best to try and stop the bleeding. Seeing as it was Bianca who dealt the blow, it would be foolish to assume she has just re-opened his wound."

Laquarde's statement sent Chopper into a frenzy, as he and the girls worked to stop Zoro from bleeding to death. The young Prince sighed as he slid down to the floor and tucked his chin between his knees. Luffy sat cross-legged on the table and Sanji leaned against it as he lit a cigarette. Usopp, Franky and Brook went about setting traps around Sunny. Every one went about their work silently, lost in their own thoughts, with nothing but the steady sound of the waves crashing against the rocks to accompany them.

Finally Luffy stood up and stretched, and looked at Sanji expectantly. The cook blew out a string of smoke and made his way to the kitchen to cook a meal that would serve to help reduce the tension.

By the time Sanji had set the food on the wooden table, Chopper and the girls had managed to reduce the bleeding and move Zoro to the side. Franky, Usopp and Brook had laid out all the traps and sat around the table with solemn expressions. Laquarde sat perched on the side of Sunny, as he swung his leg and looked out into the horizon, a slight breeze ruffling his curly golden locks.

The second Sanji was done, Luffy started wolfing down the food, not even waiting until everyone was sitting at the table. Annoyed by his lack of manners, Nami started to lecture him, which caused the others to chuckle. Soon the mood was lightened and everyone enjoyed a peaceful lunch on deck. Or atleast it would have seemed so to a by-stander. For some one who had lived through the experiences of the past few days, they would not have missed the furtive glances towards Zoro or the way they [excluding Luffy] played with their food, or how someone would try to make small talk and succeed until the rest would soon lapse into silence.

As the wind caused the waves to rock Sunny back and forth, and caused the leaves in the nearby trees to rustle, the 10 members on board the ship silently prepared for their next step. An unvoiced agreement between them all prompted them to steel themselves for the obvious course of action.

To find the people who were the sole cause of everything that had happened on that island and to unravel the mysteries of this non-existent island.

* * *

A/n: AAAAAAAAAAND VOILA! HERE IS THE END TO CHAPTER 17! Its come out extremely well if I say so myself C:

And yes, I had to add a psychotic side to Bianca... Otherwise she would be boring... DOES MY SADISTIC NATURE KNOW NO BOUNDS?! OH ZORO! -cries- Well it HAD to be done T_T Q=Q Sigh~ Well anyway 3 more chapters! The long wait is finally coming to an end! Look forward to Chapter 18 coming in a few hours~

That's all for now! Review please!

Love~


	18. Chapter 18

A/n: Well Chapter 18 is here as promised~ As you can see the story is coming to an end. And it seems that I maybe able to finish it in 20 chapters! Yay! :3

I feel bad for Zoro but I had tooo~ T_T

And so lets go to the main part of the story~ Where the Mugiwaras face their foes and the answers to various questions revealed….. IN THESE THREE CHAPTERS!

Enjuay~

Love~

N.b:

Shin Kabuto: Newest version of Usopp's slingshot like weapon.

"Strong right: Franky's attack where he seperates his right hand from his body and uses it to punch [long range also]

Gomu Gomu No Gatling gun: Luffy's attack where he showers a barrage of punches continuously on his opponent/ object. [we all know what that one is]

Mil Fleur: Gigantesco mano: Robin's attack where she make million small arms, to create huge giant arms/ feet.

Trienta fleur: clutch - Thirty flowers clutch

* * *

CHAPTER 18

So it was decided they would split into three groups. Franky, Chopper and Usopp decided to stay back. Franky's injuries hadn't fully healed and he didn't want anything to happen to Sunny, Chopper refused to let Franky and Zoro out of his sight from fear that they would die if they got injured again, Usopp decided to stay back, because as Nami had pointed out, his long-range attack style would be useful for defense.

Laquarde decided to lead a group to the enemies' HQ as he knew its location. Luffy and Robin decided to go with him. The other group consisted of Nami, Sanji and Brook who would go looking for the other enemies and lead them towards Sunny so the six of them could finish them off once and for all.

-Laquarde's group-

Laquarde pushed a branch out of his way as he squinted at the clearing in front of him. He heard the crunching of foliage as Luffy and Robin came up behind him.

"Is it here?" The Archeologist asked as she came to stand beside the blonde. Laquarde shook his head.

"It's a little further out. And just so you know you can't see it because-"

"-its underground." Robin finished and smiled at the boy. He returned her smile nervously and looked back to see Luffy huffing and puffing as he waved a branch in front of him.

"Why couldn't we stop for a water break?! I'M THIRSTYY~" The formidable Captain whined as he collapsed beside Robin.

The dark haired woman merely chuckled down at him and a disembodied arm holding a bottle appeared in front of Luffy. Exclaiming with delight, he snatched the bottle and chugged down its contents.

"Pwah!" he sighed contentedly and patted his belly.

Laquarde found the man extremely amusing. He had met Luffy once before, and that was when he was about 15 years older than his current self. Though the Pirate King showed his childish nature even then, he was much more mature compared to the grinning idiot of a rubber man, sitting by his feet. Shrugging, he walked forward and said, more to himself than to the other two:

"I always wonder how you conquered the seas with that demeanor of yours. But perhaps it is that very thing that helped you in your conquests."

"Nya?" Luffy tilted his head at the Prince who returned his confused look with a delighted laugh.

Robin merely looked amused by what she had heard, as she followed her Captain and the blonde to-be-heir.

* * *

-Sanji's group-

"Sanji kun! Will you slow down?! I know you're angry, but if you go so fast we'll more surely get lost than find our targets!"

Sanji slowed to a stop as he blew out a puff of smoke from the corner of his mouth. Looking over his shoulder, he watched as Nami and Brook reached him, puffing and panting. Feeling guilty for causing his beloved Nami san such agony, Sanji turned around and bowed low.

"Forgive me Nami san. I didn't realize that my selfishness would cause a delicate flower like you to suffer."

Nami waved off his apology as she stood up and evened out her breathing.

"I understand your hurry Sanji Kun, I myself would have done what you did, if I could run as fast."

"Oh Nami swan~ How kind of you to support me~"

Nami rolled her eyes as Sanji cooed and his eyes turned into hearts. Turning to Brook she frowned with concern.

"Are you ok Brook? I know you were pretty badly injured too. Maybe you should have stayed ba-"

"Nami san." Brook cut her off, as he snapped up suddenly.

"Y-Yes?!" Nami said, staggering back at his suddenness.

"I appreciate your concern and even though saying it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, you know that I'm already dead. So I can't be killed again." He looked at her solemnly, His empty eye sockets looking eerie in the dim light. She nodded slowly and turned away. Clasping her arm, she looked at her feet.

"I know…. But that doesn't make it any more comforting…." Brook's shoulders sagged as he came up to her and placed a hand on her head gently.

"That I know. Forgive me."

"Oi! Look what I found!" Sanji's voice, cut into their moment and they awkwardly made their way towards his voice. Increasing her pace, so as to walk ahead of Brook, Nami called out-

"What is it Sanji kun?"

As she rounded a tree, she arrived at a small clearing, where Sanji was kicking the last four hooded figures into the already large pile of them.

Nami and Brook came to stand beside him as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"So? We know they don't die if we try normal ways of killing them. So how do we get rid of them then?"

Nami gulped at the ease with which Sanji was able to talk about killing such a large number of people.

_Whom am I kidding… We're pirates… besides that we don't even know if those 'things' are even human… and They hurt Zoro and Franky and wrecked Sunny….._

Suddenly remembering, she whipped around to face Sanji, who looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Nami san?"

"Sanji kun your leg!'

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me! Your leg was broken right! You shouldn't even be able to stand!"

Sanji looked at her for a second and then turned away and started walking towards the pile of hooded creatures.

"So I thought we should burn them, what do you think?"

"Yohohoho~ I think that's a great idea Sanji san. But are you willing to sacrifice your lighter?"

"Pfft. Don't be silly. As if I would."

He bent down and picked up a twig, which he threw at the pile.

"Maybe we should cover them with dry leaves so they burn better."

A vein in Nami's forehead twitched as she clenched her fists and huffed. No matter WHO it was and HOW MUCH they were suffering, no one, NO ONE ignored her. Marching towards the blonde cook who was deep in discussion with the skeleton-musician, as to which branches would be better to light a fire, she grabbed his shoulder and twirled him towards her. She smirked inwardly at the look of surprise that was quickly replaced by fear, as he looked at her face.

"Er, Nami sa-"

"I know you can barely stand! That's why you were running so fast wasn't it?! So you didn't have to put pressure on your leg! There's no way your leg would have healed in a day! Why cant you be more considerate to your own health?!" She huffed and puffed as she glared at him.

Sanji slowly smiled and looked beyond Nami as he replied-

"But then Nami san, if I kept complaining that my leg hurt, it wouldn't get any better would it?"

"That's not-"

"I know. I know, but I can't help it. If I weren't so weak, Marimo wouldn't have nearly died. Its BECAUSE I only thought about myself, that he nearly lost his life. I'm not about to make the same mistake twice."

Still not looking at her, he stepped around her and walked away. Biting her lip, she shook her head furiously, to stop herself from crying.

_No… if there's any one that has to be blamed, it me. If only I hadn't given in to my need of taking a break, we would be far away from this disastrous demon's island._

* * *

-Franky's group-

"Haaaah…."

"What's with the long sigh. Its not like it's the end of the world right."

"Yeah yeah, but the only problem is the world we are in right now, DOESN'T EVEN EXIST!" Usopp threw his hands in the air as he glared at the blue, unmoving sky. Sitting down again, he looked at Chopper who was frowning over Zoro, as he diligently worked to change the swordsman's bandages.

"That's some wound he got huh."

"The last person who should be saying that is you!"

Franky laughed sheepishly as he came and sat beside Usopp.

"Well atleast one of us has nothing to worry about."

"Like who!"

"You?"

"Are you kidding?! I'm the most worried! What with Zoro nearly dead and your wounds barely healed and Chopper refusing to take his eyes off of you two, I'm the only one who's going to be doing all the fighting!"

Franky frowned at Usopp, who had jumped up and was pacing around, grumbling to himself. Sighing he scratched his head.

"I know my injuries aren't healed and I may not be able to fight very well, but I can atleast provide back up."

Usopp stopped short and twirled around, opening his mouth to rant again, when he saw the withdrawn expression on Franky's face.

"Your right…. Sorry…." The sharpshooter said as he returned to sit beside the shipwright.

Franky grinned and waved off his apology.

"Don't worry about it. We're all in a nasty mood since what happened earlier." Stretching, he stood up.

"Maybe I'll go refill my cola supply-" the cyborg's eyes bulged as he looked over Usopp's head.

"Franky?"

"They're here."

Usopp shivered at the deathly low tone of Franky's voice as he whirled around and looked for their enemies.

Meanwhile, Chopper changed form and carried Zoro to the make shift cage/barrier structure that Franky had built hastily to protect the swordsman.

Cracking his knuckles, Franky flexed his neck. Usopp pulled his goggles over his eyes and readied Shin Kabuto. Chopper came up to stand beside them. They watched as a line of hooded figures marched towards them from the edge of the forest. In the lead was a tall man with a red beard and a sword.

"Fuuuuu…" Franky breathed out and jumped to the sandy beach. As he heard Usopp and Chopper land behind him, he stood up straight and thrusting his massive chest out, growled.

"Lets do this."

* * *

-Sanji's group-

Sanji, Brook and Nami watched as the last of the hooded figures disappeared into the orange flames. Unlike what Nami had first thought, the hooded figures didn't seem to have any flesh at all. They seemed to be made of some gas-like substance that gave them their longevity. As she felt the heat from the towering hill of flames, even from 20 feet away, she reached into her pocket and fished out the small round device. Clicking a button, she watched as the device beeped and vibrated in her palm. A few seconds later, a beam of light appeared from the side of the device and Franky's face appeared in its hologram form.

"What is it Nami? We're kinda busy here."

She could hear Usopp's shout as he appeared and disappeared from the frame, chased by five hooded figures.

"You seem to be having it rough."

Franky made an impatient noise, as he yelled 'Strong right!' and threw ten creatures away.

"Yeah so? Did you call to make small talk? Because I'm really busy righ-"

"Burn them."

"Huh?"

"The only way to defeat them is to burn them. Even if you beat them up, they'll keep bouncing back up like daisies."

"Why didn't you say so before?!"

Franky swore and then his face disappeared. Nami wondered what happened, when she saw his feet and then the connection was cut. Sighing, she pocketed the device and looked towards where Sunny was anchored.

"Guess we should head back then."

Sanji and Brook made sounds of agreement and the trio retraced their steps as they rushed back to Sunny and their other Nakama.

* * *

-Laquarde's group-

"Urgh! So heavy!"

"Oi Laquarde move out of the way!"

Laquarde yelped and jumped away as Luffy yelled 'Gomu Gomu No Gatling gun' and started to badger the huge iron trap door.

After ten minutes of non-stop punching, the door hadn't budged an inch. Though now it had several fist sized indentations on its surface.

"THAT's why I'm telling you punching it is no good!"

"Well you won't know unless you try~"

Laquarde groaned as he squatted beside the trapdoor.

"I wish we had a sword…"

"If Zoro was here, he'd cut this damn thing in half like a piece of paper! Shishishishishishi~"

"That's true. His over muscled body isn't that useless after all. Ufufu~"

"You people….."

"Hmm?" Both Robin and Luffy said as they smiled brightly at Laquarde.

The Prince eyed them wearily before sighing and ruffling his hair with both hands.

"Well at this rate we're never making it in."

"Shall I try?" Robin said as she crossed her arms and said 'Mil fleur: Giganto mano!' and two ginormous hands appeared on either side of the trap door and together they wrenched it open and threw it aside.

"Why didn't you do this before….." Laquarde said, looking at her with a poker face.

"Fufufufu~ It wouldn't have been half as fun otherwise would it?"

The trio jumped through the trapdoor and sailed through several metres of empty space before landing with a thump on a soft padded landing mat.

As they let their eyes adjust to the dark, they looked around and saw that just like the time when they had gone to the underground castle, an empty circular room surrounded them, with a small door directly opposite them. As they cautiously walked towards the door, a bright flash of light blinded them and a shout sounded as Luffy and Robin were pushed to the side. As the two pirates regained balance, they noticed that they were in front of the door and behind them was a frowning Laquarde and….

"Bianca?" Robin asked. And Luffy growled beside her. The girl merely looked over her shoulder and smirked at them before returning her attention to the blonde in front of her.

"Get going!" Laquarde shouted. "I'll be fine!"

Before Luffy could object, Robin dragged him through the door and up a long flight of stairs.

"Oi Robin! What do you think your doing?! We gotta help him!'

"He'll be fine." Robin stated as she stood looking at the door they had reached at the top of the stair well. Pushing it open slowly, the two stepped in and squinted in the darkness.

"Well well, look what we have here…" a low, hissing voice said, accompanied by the rustle of cloth and the sound of something slithering across the floor. Robin snapped her head to the right and jumped back, just as a dagger flew past her, grazing her cheek.

"Not bad, you actually managed to dodge it. But the next one won't misss…." The person hissed, dragging out the S.

"Luffy!" Robin said and she heard her captain's fading footsteps as he ran to the door at the other end of the corridor.

Whoever was in the room made no attempt to go after him. Robin frowned. _So it seems they were waiting for Luffy to leave… so that I could be dealt with alone…_

As Robin watched, two pairs of yellow slits appeared in the far corner. They increased in size as the creature that was obviously not human, glided towards her.

"Letssss finish thisss sssshall we?" It hissed and lunged at Robin. She jumped to the side and rolled to her feet. She flinched as the arm of her dress ripped and she felt hot blood trickle down her hand. Smiling dangerously, she slowly rose to her feet. _At this rate I'll get killed._

Eyeing the shadows to her left, she crossed her arms and said in a low voice.

"Its rude not to introduce yourself before attacking your opponent you know. Treinta fleur: Clutch!" she heard a loud hiss as the creature was forced to bend backwards by Robin's disembodied hands.

Using the arms to move the creature across the floor, she brought it into the light. Lying before her was a huge Viper, nearly the size of Sunny, with its slit like eyes and forked tongue, which darted in and out of its sharp-jawed maw. The serpent wriggled and twisted, trying to free itself from Robin's multiple arms that had rendered it immobile.

"Well looks like you aren't as great as you claimed." Robin smirked. She turned around and walked towards the door when she heard a crack. Spinning around she tried to dodge the attack but was too late. The long dagger caught her just below her collarbone and threw her against the wall. She gasped as the wind rushed out of her lungs. Panting, she grabbed the hilt and pulled it out of her shoulder.

"What was that now?"

Robin watched wide-eyed, as a woman robed in black walked out of the shadows. _A demon fruit user! Why didn't I realize sooner?!_

"And who might you be?"

"Isn't it more polite to introduce yourself first? Though there would be no need for you to do so. As I know who you are, Nico Robin." The woman smiled, showing two sets of razor sharp fangs.

Robin leaned forward and coughed blood, clutching her chest and gasping for air.

"Fufufufu. It would seem the poison has taken effect. Though it should have effected you immediately after the first attack."

_What?_

Wide-eyed, Robin touched her left cheek where the knife had cut her. _At that time!_

"Fufufufu don't worry you won't die. I have been specifically asked to incapacitate you WITHOUT killing you. But of course there wasn't anything said about losing a limb or two…" She said as she licked her lips, her forked tongues darting in and out super fast.

"Why how rude of me! I never introduced myself! My name is Risela LavenDark-" The woman said, her body twisting and writhing as she transformed. "-the first serpent Empresss." She finished, as she transformed into a King Cobra.

"And now, time for a sssnack." The giant snake lunged at Robin, who jerked but otherwise couldn't move. Frantic, Robin tried to cross her arms, but she was too slow.

_Luffy!_

CRASH!

Robin gaped open-mouthed at the sight in front of her. For some reason the ceiling had gotten destroyed and had landed on the snake, its face inches away from Robin. Looking up, she saw that the ceiling was made of stone and above it clung the rich earth, which was slowly crumbling down from the loss of support.

Dragging herself to her feet, she wrapped a hand over the cut on her arm and leaning heavily against the wall, hobbled towards the door. She slowly shut it and slid to the floor. Breathing heavily, she blinked the sweat out of her eyes. Her vision was blurry, as the marble stair case in front of her came in and out of focus. She heard a sudden shout above and smiled tiredly. Sighing, she lengthened her breathing and slowly closed her eyes.

_Come get me later Luffy…_

* * *

A/n: Whew... Long... 11 pages... I'm just like -_-

Any who ~ Maybe I'll go over 20 chapters, though I'm trying not to. So few things I found out.

1. Apparently a couple chapters were dramatic... I just re-read and realized they were . Can't do nuthin' bout it now though can we? x3

2. I wanna cut down, but then it'd be too short. So the coming chapters will be long. This chapter by itself was 11 and some pages. Sigh~

Anyway I will update the next two chapters tomorrow! My back hurts and I need a break.

Ja na~

Love~


	19. Chapter 19

A/n: I'm sooo extremely sorry for the super late update. I just couldn't get in the mood to write

But now I'm back, fully inspired to complete this fanfic. And so you can expect a few more chapters. It's nearing the end, but I don't exactly want to rush it too much, so bear with me.

Also two important things:

Thank you so much for all the reviews and favorites and follows! For a first timer, it's really an honour :')

I plan on writing more fanfics after this. Whether it will be related to One Piece, I'm not sure, as I plan on writing one on Gintoki and Tsukuyo from Gintama.

But first things first! Lets move on with the story shall we?

Enjoy!

Please review~

Love~

* * *

CHAPTER 19

_Recap:_

_Robin watched wide-eyed, as a woman robed in black walked out of the shadows. 'A demon fruit user! Why didn't I realize sooner?!'_

"_And who might you be?"_

"_Isn't it more polite to introduce yourself first? Though there would be no need for you to do so. As I know who you are, Nico Robin." The woman smiled, showing two sets of razor sharp fangs. _

_Robin leaned forward and coughed blood, clutching her chest and gasping for air._

"_Fufufufu. It would seem the poison has taken effect. Though it should have effected you immediately after the first attack."_

'_What?'_

_Wide-eyed, Robin touched her left cheek where the knife had cut her. 'At that time!'_

"_Fufufufu don't worry you won't die. I have been specifically asked to incapacitate you WITHOUT killing you. But of course there wasn't anything said about losing a limb or two…" She said as she licked her lips, her forked tongues darting in and out super fast. _

"_Why how rude of me! I never introduced myself! My name is Risela LavenDark-" The woman said, her body twisting and writhing as she transformed. "-the first serpent Empresss." She finished, as she transformed into a King Cobra. _

"_And now, time for a sssnack." The giant snake lunged at Robin, who jerked but otherwise couldn't move. Frantic, Robin tried to cross her arms, but she was too slow._

'_Luffy!'_

_CRASH!_

_Robin gaped open-mouthed at the sight in front of her. For some reason the ceiling had gotten destroyed and had landed on the snake, its face inches away from Robin. Looking up, she saw that the ceiling was made of stone and above it clung the rich earth, which was slowly crumbling down from the loss of support. _

_Dragging herself to her feet, she wrapped a hand over the cut on her arm and leaning heavily against the wall, hobbled towards the door. She slowly shut it and slid to the floor. Breathing heavily, she blinked the sweat out of her eyes. Her vision was blurry, as the marble stair case in front of her came in and out of focus. She heard a sudden shout above and smiled tiredly. Sighing, she lengthened her breathing and slowly closed her eyes._

'_Come get me later Luffy…'_

* * *

Luffy yelped as his heel connected with a stray rock and he tumbled backwards, landing on a huge pile of rubble. He groaned and stood up. Looking around, he picked up his Straw hat and placed it on his head. Breathing out slowly, he squinted into the darkness. Just as he had run up the stairs and through the huge door at the end of it, something had collided into him, throwing him across the huge room. The collision had caused the floor to cave in and the dark haired man had heard several crashes, indicating the ceiling of the lower level had given way. Hoping Robin was alright, Luffy had gotten to his feet and tried to find the source of the collision, only to be thrown backwards over and over again by some invisible force.

Steadily growing frustrated, the young Captain once again threw random punches into the darkened outer section of the room, hoping that he would find his mark. But he was once again thrown back, as a heavy force pummeled into his stomach, causing him to double over and gasp for breath. Growling he lifted his head, only to squint at the blinding light in front of him.

"Wha-?!"

"It has been a while, Monkey. D. Luffy."

"You!" Luffy jumped backwards, several steps, as he frowned at the familiar voice. Standing before him, was the King, in his frail-mad scientist form.

"What do you want?!" He shouted, as he crouched into a defensive position.

Razhea merely chuckled as he placed his hands into the sleeves of his over large white coat.

"What do I want….. Now that is not something that a simple human being like you could comprehend, I am afraid."

"Eh? What? Comp what? Is that some kind of fish?!"

Razhea watched with amusement, as his opponent made a confused face and scratched his head.

"Well I must say 'tis your own fault that you are in this situation."

"What-"

"Luffy…." Razhea cut in, before the other could finish speaking. Luffy frowned and straightened, as he saw that the small man was not going to attack him any time soon.

Razhea walked over to a large boulder and sat down on it, swinging his thin legs, as they didn't reach the floor.

"Come, take a seat! Let us have a little talk."

"Yadda!" Luffy shouted, as he sulked.

"I don't wanna talk to some old man! I came here to beat you up! So go back to your strong form!"

Razhea's smile vanished, as his yes grew cold. Luffy gulped.

"I must INSIST…." Luffy yelled as he suddenly was airborne, sailing towards Razhea. He huffed as he landed on the ground in front of the boulder. Luffy tried to get up, but to his surprise, his body wouldn't move. After several minutes of struggling, he finally gave up as he realized he had no choice but to listen to what the other wanted to say.

"Now then. Where shall I start?"

"You said it was my fault this happened to us."

"Ah yes! Even though 'twould bring great calamity to talk about the future, especially to those involved, I see no choice as you have placed me in a rather difficult position."

Luffy scowled. "Oi cant you talk normally? Why do you talk in such a round about way! Its so confusing!"

The older man merely smiled and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he leaned back and looked at the ceiling, his infinitely dark pool like eyes reflecting the small rays of sunlight that made it past the surface layer. As he opened his mouth to speak, a nonexistent breeze wafted through the room and it carried with it the scent of thousands of flowers and freshly mown grass. In a deep voice, filled with sorrow, the King started…

* * *

[A/n: From here on everything is a flash back. In order to distinguish between the flashback and the present, it will be italicized.]

"_Eh? King Razhea? Whose that?"_

"_Apparently he's some king or something and he heard we were here so he wants to meet you."_

"_Oi Oi! How the hell does this Razzy dude know we're here?! Its top secret! The marines are going crazy looking for us!"_

"_Ugh I don't know Usopp! He keeps talking in riddles! Half the stuff he said made no sense!"_

'_But of course Nami san was able to understand everything perrrrrfectly~ that's what you'd expect from the beautiful Na-"_

"_Anyway, he says he wants to meet you."_

"_Fufufu looks like you were ignored again Sanji."_

"_Nooo~ Robin chwan comfort mee~"_

_SMACK HIT_

"_WILL YOU TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY?!"_

"_Oi why did I get hit too?!"_

"_Shishishishishi~ Usopp is still a coward as always!"_

"_Oi Luffy!"_

"_What the hell? I thought something was going on with all the racket you guys are making."_

"_Ah Zoro! Did you talk to the-"_

"_Yeah apparently they have nothing to do with the marines."_

"_That's what they all say! In the end they just want to have the satisfaction of being the one to drag Luffy's head to the world government!" _

"_You worry too much Usopp."_

"_I DO NOT! Not to mention Franky and Chopper haven't come back in months! Who knows what happened to them? And Brook sent some weird letter saying he's living his life to its limit! What does that even mean?!"_

"_Fufu I'm sure they're just fine."_

"_I don't wanna hear that from you Robin! We had no clue where you were either until you randomly appeared three days ago!"_

"_Well that's-"_

"_Am I interrupting something?"_

_The room fell silent, as six heads turned towards the uninvited guest. _

"_And who might you be?" Sanji asked, as he took up a defensive stance in front of the rest, blowing out a string of smoke._

"_My, was my request for an audience with the Pirate King not granted?"_

_Sanji frowned and Zoro clasped the heel of his swords as they watched the intruder for any signs that would suggest he had come for their heads. But the man merely raised his hands and smiled sheepishly._

"_Now now, I mean no harm at all. Since I don't seem to be welcome here, let me get straight to the point. You have invaded my territory and my people are finding it extremely endearing to chase out the Pirate King and his companions."_

_The others simply stared at the man like he'd grown another head. Then Luffy guffawed, throwing his head back and clutching his stomach as though he had never heard anything so funny his entire life. The others slightly relaxed and Sanji blew out a ring of smoke._

"_I'm guessing you're that Razhea dude?"_

"_Why you remember me after all!"_

"_Well yeah…. It isn't every day we have some weird guy knocking on our door saying he wants an audience with the Pirate King and then claiming we just took over his territory."_

_Razhea looked extremely amused as he bowed slightly and grinned at the small company._

"_Forgive me, let me explain myself. This place, that I commend you for finding, actually belongs to my people and I. We have lived here for thousands of years and due to certain circumstances, had to leave our home without any clear idea of our return, until the impending danger had passed. And when we returned, the few remaining folk who stayed behind, were terrified and cried as they related the story of how a very loud mouthed man who was supposed to be the Pirate King and his companions, randomly appeared one day and decided this would be their secret base."_

_Once again, silence followed, as the Pirates let the so-called King's speech sink in. Then everyone started talking all at once. Protests about how they had found the place and hence it was theirs, how no one had told them that it was already occupied, about how this was their only hiding place from the Marines without getting attacked day after day by Pirates or Marines. Luffy simply laughed, his loud voice causing the others to calm down and setting a calmer and warmer atmosphere in the dimly lit room. Grinning at the man before him, he said loudly:_

"_This man is interesting! Lets have a feast to welcome him and his people back!"_

_And so, without protest, preparations for a grand feast were made._

_As time passed, they learned that Razhea and his people were from a different time by itself. They learnt that the King used his powers to shift the city or people from one place to another every few hundred years in order to make life more interesting. The Crew had been astonished by this and chose not say anything. They also learnt that the King had a son called Laquarde, a young blonde prince who was hyper active and could get even the likes of Zoro to play with him. He was taken care of by a wide-eyed, young girl who was slightly older and the exact opposite of the little Prince. The girl was quiet and her deep violet eyes held a solemn and wise look. The Pirates had no issues with blending in with the people. They adored the crew and their unique personalities. Franky, Chopper and Brook had been extremely surprised to be welcomed back by such a big reception but they too soon blended in. As time passed, the king slowly opened up to Luffy, who seemed the wisest of all of them despite his frivolous nature. Luffy had a deep understanding of things and he could grasp the emotions of the other without them having to tell him about it. After learning the truth of Razhea's existence, Luffy was set on giving the King the life he so desired. Ignoring Razhea's protests, Luffy had gotten Nami and Robin to do research related to his topic and soon the mysteries started to unveil themselves. Even though he would never admit it, Razhea was touched by Luffy's sense of deep loyalty and comraderie. Even if he could never get the life he desired, he wished to spend whatever time he could with the Pirate King. _

_But as always, fate was cruel. Someone from within had leaked information about the Pirates' location and the entire city had been destroyed in order lure them out. Thousands of people had died and Laquarde had nearly lost his life. Luffy had overthrown the entire force of Marines and Pirates single-handedly in a fit of rage. But what proved even more dangerous was the existence of Razhea and his people. The world government had decided to wipe them off the face of the earth in order to 'Keep Legends as they are meant to be, simply Legends.' Of course the crew had put up a fight in order to stop the large-scale massacre. But Razhea had been thoroughly convinced that his wish would never be fulfilled. He would never get the life he wanted and now, he was about to lose the one friend he had. And so in a state of desperation, the King did what he had to do. He erased the existence of him and his people from time itself. He became what the World Government wanted him to become, merely a Legend. A Myth that had no truth behind it. But before he could do so, a raven-haired man had clutched his arm and while grinning through the blood and grime, had said:_

"_You must realize what you truly desire my friend. It wasn't a new life that you wanted, but rather to discard this life. Even though they sound the same, they are eternally different. Even though I could not keep my promise now, someday I will. Be it in the future-" Luffy had laughed then, a confident laugh, an unspoken promise to a dear friend. "-or the past."_

_Once Razhea had erased the memories of himself and his people from the mind of every living creature on earth, he had created an island that existed in a separate time-space. That way no one would find them for eternity. And he swore to live like that, until the promise that was made would be fulfilled._

* * *

Razhea stopped talking and slowly opened his eyes to look at the younger version of the Pirate King he had grown to love and treasure as a dear friend. The boy looked utterly confused and had a look of complete disbelief and awe plastered on his face. Razhea laughed, despite himself.

"You had the same look on your face when I had told you about my true nature."

Luffy seemed shocked to be back in the present. He shook his head and looked around wide-eyed. Then finally realizing his body was listening to him, he stood up, dusted his pants and threw a punch at Razhea. If the King had seen it coming, he didn't bother to dodge it.

"YOU IDIOT! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO THINGS IN SUCH A ROUNDABOUT WAY?! IF YOU HAD JUST TOLD ME THIS IN THE BEGINNING I WOULD HAVE HELPED YOU WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM!" Luffy huffed and puffed as he glared at the King who had an incredulous look on his face.

"…You… Believe me?" He asked, his voice choked with emotion, as he looked at the scrawny man standing in front of him. A wave of nostalgia and deep relief washed over him as tears pooled in his bottomless eyes.

"I see…. It seems I was mistaken…. No matter how much time passes, just as a mountain is carved to perfection by the wind and the rain, even though its appearance changes, its identity remains the same. Its nature is forever unchanging. It seems Monkey. D. Luffy, no matter how many millennia pass, I shall never truly understand the meaning of your existence."

Luffy simply let out a frustrated roar.

"I told you to talk normally! What the hell do mountains have to do with anything!? Agh so annoying!"

And then Razhea laughed. A genuine, heartfelt laugh. Something that was long forgotten from the days of yore.

* * *

A/n: Ah well... End of this chapter! And so I have decided to extend the story by a few chapters. And just so you know, I haven't added Razhea's entire history here because I've explained before. If you re-read Chapter 13, you should remember it. Also he's kinda turning out to be good... But I guess he was never bad to begin with? xD

Well more coming in the next chapter. We'll find out the story behing Laquarde and Bianca. And also what Franky's and Nami's groups are upto.

Stay tuned for more!

Please review!

Love~


	20. Chapter 20

A/n: Here is Chapter 20! HUZZAH! This story has successfully reached 20 chapters! Thank you all for your support! Please review!

This Chapter will have, like I mentioned, will start with Laquarde's and Bianca's story. So enjoy~

Oh and PLEASE READ THE NOTES BOTH AT THE BEGINNING AND THE END CUZ THEY WILL HAVE EXTRA INFORMATION REGARDING SEVERAL UNEXPLAINED THINGS.

Love~

N.b: Yadda [This was in the previous chapter, I forgot to mention it.] Means No in Japanese. Again, I simply wanted to use it since that's the way Luffy says it and it has more emphasis.

Hana Uta Sonachou- Yahazugiri: Three verse humming- Arrow Notch Slash/ humming three feet-Arrow notch slash/ Humming Ten steps Arrow notch slash. Brook's sword attack where the opponent does not realize he has been slashed until Brook takes ten steps/ goes three feet away from him. I.e the time necessary to hum three verses. It is so fast that only after that much time has passed, does the opponent realize he has been cut.

Hissatsu Fire bird star: Sure kill fire bird star. An attack of Usopp where he catapults a flaming ball that looks like a phoenix.

Kungfu Point: One of the various transformations of chopper that he gets during the Time Skip.

Soul Solid: the name of Brook's cane-sword. He says the name only after the time-skip since he acquired the ability to use spectral energy, so it isn't clear whether that was always its name.

Baka Senchou: idiot captain. :D

Kyaa: Eh its a way of showing a girl screaming that is generally used in Manga.

* * *

He watched as she circled around the large room, her steps perfectly matching his. Her slender body showed no signs of nervousness as she smoothly glided with him, in their large circle. They had been at it for several minutes already, neither breaking the circle, neither attempting to make a move. They simple moved around the room, all the time facing each other, violet eyes locked with blue ones. Their movements matched, the rate of their breathing matched, the practiced ease with which they glided across the rough floor matched. Years of training together showed such results. Neither of them was tense or weary of the other's presence. They could predict each others movements and reactions like their own. He watched as the thin rays of sunlight made her silky dark mane glisten. He watched as it caught her eyes and made them a gentle shade of lilac rather than their normal piercing violet. He watched and waited as he expected her to make a move soon.

Bianca smiled at Laquarde's look of concentration. She could tell he was measuring every movement of hers, matching it with his, and melding them into one. No one could anticipate her as he did; after all, she was the one who taught him all he knew. Which gave her an advantage over him. She knew everything there was to know about the blonde haired, blue-eyed Prince. Where as he knew near to nothing about her. Or so she had thought. The ease with which he moved proved that even though, her previous act of betrayal was clear in his mind, he still waited for an explanation. Anything feasible enough so he could forgive her. 'Twas but another silly fight. 'Twas but another silly misunderstanding. These very thoughts were running through his mind, she knew. And she was completely prepared to take advantage of it.

Or so she thought.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself greatly my lady."

The sound of his voice caught her off guard. She had not expected him to start the conversation. She nearly faltered but caught herself.

"Is that so? And what made you think that?"

He shrugged.

"You've been smiling for a while now. I will admit it was a little creepy at first, but your entire being is so deeply shadowed by mysteries, I chose to ignore it."

He was giving her an excuse to talk about herself. But of course she would ignore it. She started to retort back with a snark remark, but Laquarde cut her off.

"Its already pointless Bianca. You can't fool me. I've known you all my life and I can tell exactly what you're thinking. I don't know if you remember, but I was there when we met Luffy all those years ago. Father might have thought I'd forgotten but I haven't. I know about you and Father. I know about your Mother. I know why Father is doing what he's doing. And I know you hate him for not telling you everything he planned to do."

This time she faltered. The fact that she had completely underestimated his understanding of her seemed to be threatening her advantage over him. Finally giving up, she sighed and stopped moving. She looked down at her feet, but could clearly see the look of surprise and worry on Laquarde's face.

"Well he never relied on me before, so why would that change now?" She looked up and smiled at him.

And in five large paces, he was in front of her and had her enveloped in a bear hug. _I wonder when he grew so big._ She let herself melt in his embrace, fully anticipating what was going to come next.

"I am sorry."

She smiled sadly as she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. Her little brother had finally grown up. She felt a warm tear trickle down her cheek, and his soft hand wipe it off. And then the ground disappeared below her feet, as she started to free-fall towards the unknown.

* * *

"Kyaaa~"

"Nami san!"

"Oi Nami! Hold on!"

"O-O-O-OI! THEY'RE COMINGG!"

"Ugh this is never ending! Usopp is the fire ready yet?!"

"Not yet! These bastards keep putting it out!"

"Kungfu point!"

"Aah thanks Chopper!"

"No problem Franky! Just make sure you don't exert yours-"

"CHOPPER!"

"Yohohohoho~ Soul solid!"

"Th-Thanks Brook…."

"No problem Chopper san!"

"Oi Usopp!"

"Aaaaah! HISSATSU FIRE BIRD STAR!"

"NOW! FRANKY!"

'SUUUUUUUPEEEERRRRR!"

Nami screamed as she was thrown back from the force of the explosion. Franky was behind Sunny, Chopper clinging on to him for dear life. Usopp was lying with his head stuck in the sand. Sanji bent down and offered a hand to her as she stood up.

"W-Well atleast that's over and done with."

"Not quite I'm afraid."

They spun around at the sound of the familiar voice. And there stood, in all his weird horned glory, Emir. He smiled politely and bowed.

"It has been awhile. It seems you have gone through quite a lot in these past few da-" He was cut short by Sanji's foot and was sent flying twenty feet in the air.

"Well atleast the rumors are true."

Franky glared as another man stepped up from behind a rock. He was tall and sturdy and kept knocking the back of his sword against his shoulder.

"Ah I'm Yagashi. Though I guess its all the same to you." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"….Aaah another weird one appeared…"

"How rude! I don't wanna be told that by a talking Raccoon dog!"

"I'm a reindeer!"

"And you're dead."

Nami exclaimed and Chopper screamed as a familiar green coat billowed above them and the sound of swords clashing was heard. As Yagashi stepped back, he whistled.

"That's some wound you got there. And I'm not even talking about that big bad scar."

"Shut up."

Clang Clink Clunk

"Its such an honour-" Yagashi jumped, as a sword swung just below him. "-To be able to fight one on one like this-" he swore and rolled to his left as the boulder on which he was standing was neatly sliced in half. "-with the famous Rorona Zoro."

Zoro grunted as he pushed the other back once again, obviously overpowering him.

"Zoro!" Chopper cried, Sanji was busy taking his anger out on the mustache freak. Usopp was busy trying to get his head unstuck. Franky was catching his breath as his wound has de-opened. Brook was cowering behind Franky and Nami was just sitting there, completely horrified.

"What is that idiot doing?! He'll die!"

"Leave it Chopper…. Zoro's the only one who can take him on…."

Just as he said that, Zoro fell sideways in an attempt to avoid getting cut by the enemy's long sword and started coughing up blood. Chopper started crying and Nami started yelling at him to stop. Brook suddenly stood up and took a few steps towards the sparring duo.

"I'm sorry Zoro san, but you really shouldn't make Chopper san cry." Zoro yelped as the hilt of Brook's cane connected with the swordsman's side and he went sprawling across the ground to where Franky and Chopper were. The little doctor let out a strangled cry and immediately started tending to him.

"Yohohoho~ I will be your opponent." Brook said, as he drew his cane-sword out.

"Awww what a pity, I was really hoping to have a match with the Pirate Hunter Rorono- WOAH!" Yagashi jumped back and clutched his stomach where a line of ice was forming.

Brook looked at him with his eerie empty sockets and said:

"Soul solid."

Cussing, the enemy swordsman jumped several steps back and took on a defensive stance. After exchanging several more blows, both swordsmen stood panting for breath.

"Heh well of course some freaky skeleton can't match Roronoa's skill."

Brook frowned at the obvious insult and drew his word once again.

"That is quite obvious. I am first a musician and then a swordsman." Before the other could react, Brook had appeared three feet behind him.

"But I am still quite skilled since you didn't notice that you have already been cut."

"Wh-!?" Yagashi collapsed, blood spilling across the white sand, staining it red.

"Hana Uta Sanchou: Yahazugiri."

Brook sheathed his sword as his Nakama roared with delight behind him. Satisfied, he was about to turn around when Nami screamed.

"Oh no! Sanji kun!"

Sanji was lying on the sand, clutching his left leg, his face pale as death, as his opponent laughed mercilessly above him.

"SANJIIIIIIII!"

Chopper and Usopp roared, both of them running towards their injured cook together. Before Emir could react, Chopper had tackled him and Usopp was kneeling by Sanji asking if he could stand. When Sanji didn't respond and his face grew paler, Usopp called to Brook and the both of them helped carry Sanji back to Sunny. While Chopper wrestled with Emir, Nami helped tied a plank around Sanji's leg in order to keep the bone together. After giving him the medicine Chopper had in his backpack, Sanji relaxed a little and the colour returned to his face.

"S-Sorry…. Nami san…. You had to see such a … pathetic and uncool side of.. me…."

"What nonsense are you blabbering Sanji kun! You, Franky and Zoro were already so badly injured and even though we told you not to fight you went and over did it!"

Zoro snorted and received a bump on his head from Nami. Franky chuckled sheepishly and Sanji looked away apathetically. Sighing, Nami helped the blonde man sit up.

"And I'm starting to worry about Luffy and the others. We haven't heard from them yet."

Usopp nodded solemnly and got up to help Chopper. Except Chopper had already done a fine job of beating Emir to a pulp. The little deer went back to his original form and huffed.

"Serves you right you mustache freak!" Usopp, Franky and Sanji chuckled at the small doctor's enthusiasm.

"But really, what was with these guys? They barely put up a fight! Its like all those injuries that we got happened because we were careless!"

Nami groaned when the others looked everywhere except at her.

"Yohohohoho~ But I guess you're right Nami san, they were really weak. Or rather it seemed like they only seemed strong but they were actually weak." Brook looked around at the wide-eyed expressions everyone was giving him.

"E-Eh? Did I say something weird?"

"No Brook you're a genius!" Nami exclaimed as she patted him on the back.

"Eh?! Really?! Then Nami san can I see your pa-" Usopp and Chopper sat poking Brook as he lay sprawled upside down across a rock, a huge swelling blooming on his head.

"Right then." Nami said blowing on her fist. "Lets go look for our baka Senchou shall we?"

And just as she said that, a loud screech filled the air and the crew clutched their ears.

"Ehhhh… Does this thing work? Ok~ This is Monkey. D. Luffy and I'm gonna be the Pirate King! Shishishishishishishi~"

The crew groaned as their captain's voice sounded across the island.

"Oi you guys! Come to that pillar thing closest to Sunny! We'll talk there!" and then everything was silent except for the constant crashing of the waves against the rocks and the occasional breeze.

The crew sighed as they helped Zoro and Sanji walk towards the spot their Captain mentioned.

"That Baka Senchou…." Nami smiled as she propped Sanji's arm around her shoulder.

* * *

A/n: And we come to the end of Chapter 20! Fufufu looks like I'm on a writing spree! Well we're almost nearing the end! two or three more chapters left!

Ok I decided to explain somethings that might not be clear: *Firstly the medicines Bianca gave Franky, Zoro and Sanji were designed to give complete relief temporarily The side effect is that once the effect wears off, the pain returns ten fold. That's why Zoro and Sanji were suddenly incapacitated. Since Franky was already being treated by Chopper, he hadn't taken as much of the medicine as the other two.

*Secondly, I wasn't sure if I did a good job of explaining the thing between Laquarde and Bianca. The truth would be that Razhea had erased the memories of everyone including his own people in order to control the flow of time. But both Bianca and Laquarde don't lose their memory for reasons that you can connect to the existence of their mother. Yup laquarde's mother is also Maya. That was not included in the flashback in Chapter 13 because Bianca did not know about it. And when she thinks she knows everything about Laquarde and he doesn't know anything about her, she's wrong because Laquarde actually knew everything but feigned innocence. Hence in the end she realises and refers to him as 'Little brother'.

*Thirdly, what happens in the end between Laquarde and Bianca: He puts her to sleep. Or rather he puts her into a comatose state which she won't wake up from anytime soon. Also Razhea asks him to do this. Bianca figures this out when Laquarde says he knows everything. The reason why he does it will be told in the next few chapters.

*Also this is again something I forgot t mention in the previous chapter: When Luffy promises that he will help Razhea someday, in either the future or the past, he's actually hinting to Razhea to ask his past self for help in order to fulfill the promise. As to WHY Luffy does that, is a different story. The future must not be revealed~ shhhhhh~~ C;

That's all for now! If there are any more questions or parts that aren't clearly explained or hard to understand, or if there are any mistakes, please feel free to review and I'll reply immediately!

Love~


	21. Chapter 21

A/n: Chapter 21 here! This Chapter may be quite small, depending on what direction my thought process goes in.

Also even if there are a few more chapters, they won't go more than 25. So no worries.

Before you start I wanted to thank everyone for sticking with me for so long and reading! I'm sorry for all the random updates! Thank you for bearing with me! You guys are awesome! :D

Please review.

And PLEASE READ THE NOTE AT THE BOTTOM.

Love~

* * *

_Recap:_

"_Right then." Nami said blowing on her fist. "Lets go look for our baka Senchou shall we?"_

_And just as she said that, a loud screech filled the air and the crew clutched their ears._

"_Ehhhh… Does this thing work? Ok~ This is Monkey. D. Luffy and I'm gonna be the Pirate King! Shishishishishishishi~"_

_the crew groaned as their captain's voice sounded across the island._

"_Oi you guys! Come to that pillar thing closest to Sunny! We'll talk there!" and then everything was silent except for the constant crashing of the waves against the rocks and the occasional breeze._

_The crew sighed as they helped Zoro and Sanji walk towards the spot their Captain mentioned._

"_That Baka Senchou…." Nami smiled as she propped Sanji's arm around her shoulder._

* * *

"Ah!" Nami exclaimed as Luffy came into view. Their Captain was waving his arms excitedly and had a huge grin plastered on his face. Behind him was Laquarde and he was kneeling besides an unconscious Bianca. Nami frowned but chose not to comment.

"Oi Luffy! What's going on here?!" Nami sighed. _Way to ruin my effort Usopp._

"Why is HE here?!" _He?_ Nami thought and he followed the others' gaze until her jaw dropped, as she saw who was standing to Luffy's right.

"Well a lot of stuff happened and I decided to help him!" Luffy said happily. Everyone groaned. That was just like him, to suddenly decide to help his enemy. Luffy seemed to have completely forgotten about what that guy had done to Zoro and the others. But as always, once he had made up his mind, nothing could change it. And so they helped Zoro and Sanji sit down with their backs propped against a large tree and waited for an explanation.

But of course none came. Luffy just 'Shishishishishi'd and that was that. Sighing, Laquarde stood up and slowly walked towards them. Eyeing Zoro skeptically, he opened his mouth and said in a low voice:

"Isn't there some one you ought to meet?"

Zoro frowned at the question and didn't answer. Laquarde looked at him wearily and ran a hand through his golden blonde hair.

"Ok let me reframe that. There's someone that wants to meet you."

Zoro merely raised an eyebrow at him. Exasperated, Laquarde shrugged and went to sit between Luffy and Bianca. Zoro looked around at all of them and found that everyone's eyes were on him. Some were eyeing him suspiciously, some looked tired, some were dead serious and one didn't particularly care. Zoro groaned and ruffled his short, spiky green hair.

"This may take awhile." And then he drifted off. Everyone kept staring at him, expectantly. But when the swordsman started to snore, they gave up and turned their attention to the other three.

"So Luffy, where is Robin?"

"Over there." Luffy pointed to a nearby rock that was surrounded by a crystal clear pool of water. Beside it lay Robin. On seeing her, the Crew instantly stiffened. Chopper gasped and ran towards her. Two things were definitely wrong. Firstly the Archeologist was lying extremely still and her face was a pale blue. Her body was covered with blood and scratches and the wounds were turning purple and green. Her eyebrows were knitted as though she was in extreme pain and a thin film of sweat covered her forehead. The other thing of concern was, that a certain colourful Toucan was treating her. As soon as Chopper reached her, he shooed away Peri and set to work on her.

"Its no use." Laquarde's voice rang across the quiet field.

"She's been poisoned and only Peri knows how to treat her."

Even though the very idea seemed to appall the little Doctor, his need to treat his patient came first, and so he stood by and watched carefully as Peri began her ministrations.

Everyone lapsed back into silence and only Luffy seemed to be enjoying himself. Why, the rest of his crew could not tell.

"So…" Sanji started, struggling to reach for his cigarettes. "Who exactly is Marimo meeting when he's sound asleep?" The cook asked, Poking Zoro with the nub of his cigarette.

Laquarde shrugged. "We'll know soon enough."

And once again everyone quietly waited. What for, most of them were not sure.

* * *

_When Zoro opened his eye, he was lying on his back in a very familiar green field that had the strong scent of flowers and fresh grass. He simply lay like that for a few seconds, wondering if it was all right to move. When he didn't feel any gut wrenching pain, he slowly started to sit up. But he stopped suddenly and froze as he heard her voice. She was singing some extremely sad song that nearly brought tears to his eyes. Her crystal clear voice flowing across the field in gentle waves. He slowly turned to see that she was directly behind him, singing to a rose. Frowning, Zoro got up and walked towards her. He was surprised at how light his body felt without the excruciating pain. When he reached her, she stopped singing, much to his disappointment and looked up at him with a smile._

"_So we meet again."_

''_And this time I'm not lost or dying." And he suddenly realized he had said that just to hear her delightful laughter. Once she had stopped laughing, she looked down at the rose in her hand, which had now fully bloomed and was a deep hypnotizing red against her alabaster skin. _

"_It seems the time has come." Zoro found himself laughing sourly at that statement. Maya cocked her head to the side and looked at him with amusement clear in her glass like eyes. _

"_That joke is getting too old. Especially when something like time doesn't even exist here." This time Maya chuckled dryly as she placed the rose on the grass in front of her._

"_That is true. The power to manipulate time may be considered as a gift by most, but to those who possess it, 'tis naught but a curse. We cannot enjoy the natural flow of time. We are forced to stay eternally constant and unchanging. So much so, that after millennia of the same process repeating over and over again, you simply start to wish that you could be free of such a curse."_

"_Aren't you awfully talkative today."_

"_You seem to be in an unpleasant mood. Would I be the cause for it by chance?"_

"_And now you can read my mind!" Maya chuckled sadly. _

"_And what is it that ails you little one?" Zoro snorted at being treated like a child again._

"_I thought no one was supposed to know about you. And though it was my fault for telling my Nakama about it, how come that blonde Prince knew about you? Not only that, he even told me you were waiting for me!" Without realizing it, Zoro had started yelling. Maya looked taken aback, her wide eyes reflecting the grass around her to make it seem like a vast Ocean._

"_I see….. So Laquarde didn't explain anything to you as yet." Zoro cocked an eyebrow._

"_Fufufu you wonder how I know his name, whilst you never mentioned it." Zoro frowned. Maya tilted her neck so that her silver hair flowed down her back and landed around her in puddles of silver silk. She opened her eyes to look at the ever-present clear sky and slowly opened her mouth._

"_It is but a simple truth. Laquarde…. As is Bianca… Are my children…" A wonderfully tender expression overcame her previously sad one and she sighed deeply._

"_Those children have suffered greatly for our sins."_

"_And I suppose 'our' refers to you and that King?"_

"_Why yes…. You have already heard of our rather… unfortunate tale. Yes?" Zoro nodded._

"_There is more to it. Or should I say less." It was Zoro's turned to sigh._

"_Every single one of you like to talk in riddles don't you? Why can't you just tell it out straight rather than beating around the bush all the time?" His question came out harsher than he expected, and a pained expression crossed Maya's face. She looked down at her hands and watched the sunlight play designs on them through the leaves of the trees._

"_Laquarde was a child created by us." Zoro hung is head in frustration._

"_You do not understand….. Bianca was born to us, but Laquarde…. He was created by us." This piqued the swordsman's interest._

"_At that time, we, Lord Razhea and I, merely wished to live simple human lives. But no matter what we did, out curse did not allow us to bear a child. We were cursed to be immortal. And those who bear such a curse could never be normal. So, using our powers, we created a child. Who would breathe, grow, eat, sleep and age like any human would. Once he was created, we became greedy. We wanted more. We wanted to create life and raise them with our own hands. And so we did. All the people who you see in Razhea's kingdom are our creations. Immortal beings that could lead mortal lives. But that came with a price. Razhea's people were hunted down and killed. So he constantly shifted locations, between time and space, in order to keep them safe. And on one such occasion, he ran into you and your crew." Zoro's eyes widened in astonishment._

"'_Twas a time from the future, when Luffy had conquered the seas. You were seeking refuge from the hungry hands of the world government and the pirates. This led to a great distortion in time-space. Razhea found Luffy to be a kindred spirit and spoke of his true nature. And instead of fleeing from fear, Luffy decided to save us. And thus a great calamity occurred. If he did not do something to revert this calamity, your lives would have been in great danger. And so, he sacrificed his friendship with your Captain, in order to save your lives. He did so by erasing our existence from time-space. The events of that time were completely erased. Yet, for some reason Laquarde's and Bianca's memories were unaffected. Bianca's memories were tampered with until certain events were forgotten, but to no avail. But this is not what I want to tell you. Zoro, the reason you are here now, is because of a promise."_

"_A promise?" Maya nodded._

"_Let me guess. Luffy promised Razhea that he would help him even if he forgot about him and that's how we ended up here."_

_Maya smiled at him gently. _

"_It seems I am not the only one who can read minds." Zoro shifted uncomfortably._

"_So? How do we keep this promise?" He scowled at her astonished expression._

"_Of course we'll help you! First of all Luffy never goes back on his word. And besides unless we do something, we can't leave right?" Maya nodded slowly._

"_Ok then…." Zoro stood up and dusted his trousers. "Tell me what I need to do."_

"…"

* * *

Laquarde watched as Zoro blinked and stretched. He then winced and groaned and everyone eyed him with concern. Once he was sitting upright, he began to relate everything that had happened. Everyone listened carefully and to Laquarde's surprise, didn't seem the least bit shocked. Once he was done, the swordsman looked at him expectantly. Laquarde nodded and stood up. This was it. This was finally ending. Finally.

_But Zoro, you left out a very important detail. On how to end it._

* * *

A/n: Yeah well it ended with a cliff hanger C: I said it would be short.

Now I would like to explain Laquarde's origin. I guess most of is understood, but to make it simpler, he ages much much slower than a normal human would. So do the rest of the people. Why he is so young even though he was the first to be created in comparison to the others, would be because Razhea and Maya wanted him to be younger to Bianca who would be born later. [How is a different story. I will leave it to your imagination.] WHY they wanted such a thing, would be so Bianca would not doubt anything told to her in relation to Laquarde's origin. She did not know until the end that he was her brother. And that they shared the same mother. Also, what Maya tells Zoro will become clear in the next chapter. I just left it at that because it would be more interesting that way~

That's all for now! Chapter 22 on its way!

Review~

Love~


	22. Chapter 22

A/n: Chapter 22~ Just one more Chapter left. This may be quite short.. PLEASE READ THE NOTE AFTER THE CHAPTER.

Review~

Love~

* * *

_Recap:_

_Laquarde watched as Zoro blinked and stretched. He then winced and groaned and everyone eyed him with concern. Once he was sitting upright, he began to relate everything that had happened. Everyone listened carefully and to Laquarde's surprise, didn't seem the least bit shocked. Once he was done, the swordsman looked at him expectantly. Laquarde nodded and stood up. This was it. This was finally ending. Finally._

'_But Zoro, you left out a very important detail. On how to end it.'_

* * *

CHAPTER 22

Luffy stared dumbfounded at Laquarde. The others followed suit. Nami was nearly in tears, Brook was depressed, Chopper and Usopp were terrified and Zoro and Sanji were expressionless. What Laquarde had suggested they do, was terrible. Luffy was torn between whether to agree, or to break his promise. He grit his teeth and scowled at the ground. Of course the answer was clear. He'd rather die than break his promise.

And so it was decided. While the crew [minus Zoro and Robin] made preparations, Razhea sat atop a tall boulder that he had placed on top of the pedestal and inspected the surrounding landscape. For it would probably be the last time he saw it. Zoro simply sat with his eye closed as the others went about doing what they had to do. While he let his mind wander, he remembered once again, the answer to his question that he wished that he had never asked.

"_Ok then…." Zoro stood up and dusted his trousers. "Tell me what I need to do."_

"…_. Are you sure you want me to tell you?"_

"_What kind of game are you playing? If you don't tell me how will I know?! Plus that's the whole point of calling me here right?" Maya looked away, her deep eyes seeing something so far away that Zoro's feeling of dread kept escalating every minute. Finally she turned to look at him. Looking him deep in the eyes, she murmured softly._

"_You must burn our souls." Zoro blinked. Had he heard her right? Burn their souls? Was something like that even possible?_

"_How-"_

"_You must sacrifice something of yours, so we can sacrifice something of ours." She continued to stare into his eyes. Zoro gulped and swore softly. _

"_Go on."_

"_Have you heard of the concept of equivalent exchange?" When Zoro didn't respond, she continued._

"_You must give something of equal value in order to get something back. But in our case that is practically and theoretically impossible. The value of our very existence is deeply connected to the creation of this world. So in order to destroy us, beings whose existence balances the world, you will have to sacrifice infinite number of human beings."_

"_What are you suggesting?! That we kill people?!" Maya sighed._

"_Let me finish. Like I said, it is impossible to kill us. Destroying us would mean destroying every creation that is related to us and that would include the Universe itself. Hence, Razhea and I, after millennia of experimentation and research, came up with a relatively simple idea. You cannot destroy a forest without burning it down whole. If you burned a single tree, the fire would spread, but if luck were on its side, rain or some other force would be able to prevent the fire from destroying the entire forest. But if you were to destroy the soil, something that the trees need in order to survive, the forest will die. Nothing can stop it. 'Tis the same in our case. You need to destroy the very essence of our being, our very souls. Do so, and we will perish."_

"_But wouldn't the repercussions be great?"_

"_Once a forest is destroyed, over time that land will be used for other purposes, other living things will build and grow there. But the fact that the forest had once existed there will never change. Even if our soul is destroyed, our effect on everything that was created and that will replace us will remain. But only if you burn our souls."_

"_And how do we do that."_

"_You must….." She paused, her eyes searching his, for any sign that she can stop. But finding none, her beautiful face twisted painfully. "You must sacrifice one of our own, in order to destroy us. The tree that caught fire, will never live again. It will be replaced, no doubt, but the being that existed then will be dead. That tree had to be sacrificed in order to save the forest. The concept is the same, except in reverse. One tree must be sacrificed in order to burn the ground that it stood on. Soon, that will spread and the other trees will die. If you think of it in that way, then killing that one tree would lead to the destruction of the entire forest."_

_Zoro looked completely lost and uncomfortable. Maya laughed, despite herself._

"_You must destroy our one creation that was born from us, a part of us, that contains a part of our souls."_

"_You want me to kill Bianca?!" Maya smiled and shook her head sadly. Zoro looked at her incredulously. What she was implying was madness! Kill their own child?! Just so they could be saved?! What kind of horrendous idea was that?! How could they sacrifice their own child just to escape a life of suffering?! How selfish could they be?! A look of disgust crossed his face. He looked away and said in a low voice._

"_Does she know?" _

_No answer._

"_I'm guessing I'm the one who has to do it?"_

_No answer._

"_What do we have to sacrifice besides her?"_

_No answer._

* * *

Zoro opened his eyes to see a pair of wide eyes right in his face. He sighed and pushed the face back.

"Is everything ready?" Luffy nodded. Zoro sighed and with his Captain's help, stood up.

Just like Laquarde had asked, they had gathered tons of firewood around the pedestal where Razhea sat. Around the wood, Laquarde had drawn a circle in the same way Bianca had done with them. They had done the same in all four corners of the island. Razhea's people helping them, made it relatively faster. Then atop every pedestal stood about thirty men, women and children. And around them, the circle was drawn. In the centre of the island, where the underground city was located, were hundreds of people waiting as their King had asked of them. In front of Razhea, with the help of Usopp and Franky, a cross had been constructed. Tied to it, was Bianca, still in her comatose state. Franky and Usopp had rigged all four corners of the island, so that once the job was done, all four corners would light up simultaneously and spread till it reached the centre. Of course Laquarde had already rigged the city so that it would collapse in time.

And so the grand plan was set to unfold. Destroy the entire island, so that no trace of it will ever remain throughout time and space. And the only way to do that, was to impale Bianca through her heart. According to what Laquarde said, that would cause Maya and Razhea's souls to materialize and the second they do, they had to be burnt. This would be the trigger to set off the explosions and destroy the island. Once Franky and Usopp had rigged everything, they had set off to prepare Sunny. Chopper had carried Robin to Sunny and Brook and Nami were instructed to follow. The explosion would be triggered from there. If what Laquarde had said were true, once the souls were destroyed, the barrier outside the island would cease to exist for exactly one minute, before the entire island would be warped from existence. So they had exactly 60 seconds to haul their asses well away from there, if they didn't want to get caught up in the explosion and get erased along with the island. Sanji, Zoro and Luffy watched as Laquarde finished drawing the circle around the pedestal. A huge tower of electricity appeared and disappeared before they could blink. Now, even If the King were to change his mind, he wouldn't have enough time to escape from there. Not that he planned on it. The only thoughts that Zoro was having were, how he was to kill Bianca and what Laquarde planned to do. Once the Prince joined them, Razhea looked at Luffy and a genuine smile spread on his face.

"Thank you….. My friend…. For keeping your promise…"

Luffy merely pulled his hat low over his face. The trans communication device in Sanji's hand beeped and Nami's face appeared.

"We're all set to leave. The second you guys are on board, Franky will use Coup De Burst to get us out of here." She looked at the trio with concern. "don't take too long okay?" Once they murmured their agreement, her face disappeared and the cook pocketed the device.

"Looks like we're all set." He said and blew out a billow of smoke.

"…..Yeah" Luffy looked at Zoro expectantly. His first mate looked away uneasily.

"Zoro. You do know you can't cut her right?" He nodded slowly. Satisfied with his response, the raven-haired man patted the moss-haired one on the shoulder and walked towards the tied up girl. Luffy watched as a nonexistent wind caused Bianca's ebony hair to pour down her shoulders and across her face. Her violet eyes were closed, their piercing gaze lost in a black void. He pursed his mouth as Zoro came to stand beside him. His left hand clutching the heel of his swords so tight, his knuckles were white. They could hear Sanji exhaling in the background. Peri was nowhere to be found. Razhea had lapsed into a state where his consciousness was no longer present. Luffy took a step back as Zoro brought his arm up. Stretching out his fingers and holding them together, he grit his teeth and made sure they wouldn't bend at the last moment. Taking a breath through his teeth, he closed his eyes and lunged forward, expecting to connect with flesh any second. But his hand flew threw nothing but air, until he was tumbling forward from the force of his thrust. He opened his one good eye and spun around wildly, wondering what had happened. The sight before him, caused his blood to turn cold.

* * *

Sanji watched as everything unfolded in slow motion, every single detail, like the rustle of Zoro's coat as he spun around, the sound of rocks being pulled out of the ground due to his movements, the snap of his foot, as it collided with the ground, crushing his spent cigarette and the smell of the blood as it poured down like a waterfall, everything was crystal clear. The sounds, smells and sights were in sharp contrast compared to the rest of his surroundings. He didn't quite understand what had happened. Marimo had lunged forward, but for some reason he not only missed Bianca, he went completely off course and wasn't even close to her. The one whose hand was impaling her, was Luffy's. From where he stood, he could see the blood splattered on his Captain's face, his shaggy hair dripping wet. The blood was flowing out like someone had broken down a damn over a huge river.

But that wasn't what shocked him the most. What astonished him the most, was the two pairs of wide eyes, one violet and one blue, that were staring, unblinking at each other. Laquarde had his arms around Bianca and Luffy's arm in his back. Tears were streaming down his sister's face as she looked at him like she'd never seen him before. Sanji blinked, and looked at the scene again. But it still remained the same. Laquarde was standing with his back to Luffy, his arms around Bianca, his eyes fixed on hers. Bianca was crying, as she looked into his eyes, her sobs the only thing that could be heard in the silence. And Luffy was standing behind them both. His arm through their chests, and out the other side. Zoro had a look of pure horror on his face as realization struck him. One second later it hit Sanji too.

"_We were played for fools."_

Laquarde's words echoed in the silence. Yes, they had been played for fools. The entire thing had been a hoax. A big fat lie. And Luffy had known it all along. From the very beginning, Luffy had been on the other side. As Sanji blinked again, he realized that even though he was standing on both legs, his left leg didn't seem to hurt one bit. It seemed like Marimo had figured it out too, as he laid a hand against his nonexistent injury. Sanji let out a long shaky breath and stood stock still, the shock causing his knees to tremble.

Zoro stared wide-eyed at Luffy. He finally understood. He finally realized what was amiss. That uneasy feeling he had had for a while proved to be right.

There was no King Razhea. There was no Maya the Phantasm. There was no nonexistent island. There was no hidden city under the ground. There was no army of hooded soldiers that weren't human. There was no battle or injury. There was no time warp or space distortion. And there most definitely was no explosion.

There was only a raven-haired, violet-eyed girl who could control time-space and a golden-haired, blue-eyed boy who could create illusions. And all they had wanted, was to end their lives together, but leave behind proof of their existence deep in someone's mind. All they had wanted, was to die like normal children, with the ones they treasured beside them. All they had wanted, was someone like Luffy, who understood the words that were never said. All they had wanted, was their wish to come true. For their pitiful lives to have some meaning to some one else besides them. To mean something to someone besides each other. And they had waited….. and waited… and waited…. For someone to free them of the curse that bound them to this world. To free them of the curse called life. The had waited, to be understood. And finally, their wish had been granted. Finally, they would rest in peace. Their existence would be remembered. They would not die a meaningless death. Their life had not been worthless, as they would be remembered.

They would be remembered….

**_~FIN~_**

* * *

A/n: Yosh! The story ends here. Before you freak out and stop reading, like I mentioned before, there is one more Chapter. Or rather, an Epilogue. Please do read it.

This is gonna be a long-ish note so bear with me. I'd like to clarify and clear somethings.

1. First of all, I DID NOT EXPECT IT TO END LIKE THIS. AT ALL. Honestly, somewhere along the way, the story changed into something completely different. So I'm sorry if its a bad ending, because it just ended up like that.

2. For those of you who are wondering 'WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED' I'll give you a gist: Bianca controls Time-Space. Laquarde creates illusions. So you can easily assume, half the stuff that happened, did not actually happen. I'd like to quote here "In illusion lies reality and in reality lies illusion." So whether you take that the story uptill now as one big lie, or that it actually happened is completely left to you.

3. At some points of time, Luffy acts like he knows some things that the others don't. And at other times, he's completely clueless. For eg. the beginning of this Chapter. Luffy does not anticipate things to happen that way. And times like when Franky, Zoro and Sanji are injured, He's actually angry. But the reason he forgets all of that [Nami mentions that in Chapter 19] is because Laquarde tells him the truth. WHEN this happens, there are a lot of chances for that happening. Especially since Razhea himself was created by Laquarde. You can even assume that during the flashback, Laquarde hints to Luffy about the truth.

4. As to WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED, whether Razhea and Maya exist, the story about their legend, about their souls, about everything, I leave it to your imagination :D

Am I bad writer QAQ I might just be xD But I am quite satisfied with the way it ended~

What can I say~~ It ended with a major twist :D Has anyone watched Shutter Island? You can assume its something like that? :P

Yup That's the end of When Disaster Falls. PLEASE READ THE EPILOGUE. And stay tuned for mare fanfics from me!


	23. EPILOGUE

**EPILOGUE**

Zoro watched the seagulls through the window of his training room/Crow's nest, as they flew beside the Thousand Sunny. The ocean was calm and the weather was warm. A light breeze carried the smell of lunch to him. As he closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, he could hear Luffy screaming for food and Usopp and Chopper running after him to make sure he doesn't gobble everything up before they get their share. He sighed contentedly and was about to climb down the trap door that led to the deck when he saw a dark strip appear across the horizon. Smiling to himself he spoke loudly so everyone could hear him over the shouting.

"Land Ho!"

Zoro dropped down onto the deck as Luffy whipped passed him to the hull, followed by an over excited Chopper and a not so excited Usopp. Nami raised her hand to shield her eyes as she squinted into the distance.

"Hmm….."

"Is something wrong Nami?" Robin asked as she joined her by the rail.

"… Not really, considering this is the Grand Line. But…" She looked down at the log pose on her wrist and frowned at the three arrows that were pointing anywhere but at the island in front of them.

"Luffy~" She called, predicting her Captain's reaction before she even spoke. "That island isn't shown on the Log pose."

"Uwoo~! Then we HAVE to check it out!" Luffy yelled back throwing his hands in the air and jumping. Nami rolled her eyes and sighed as she climbed down to sit on the lawn deck.

"Why am I not surprised." She sipped her tea as Robin joined her and laughed at her statement.

"He really is way too childish isn't he." She stated, more than questioning, as she watched her Captain with amused eyes. Nami sighed as she watched Chopper and Luffy, arm in arm ,singing a song about a new adventure.

"Oi Nami!" Usopp said coming towards them with a pleading expression.

"Sorry Usopp but I agree with Luffy. The weather's perfect and after our last battle all I want is some peace and quiet." Nami said before Usopp could beg her to say otherwise.

"But we have all the peace and quiet you need right here!" Usopp whined as he plopped down beside her and picked up a glass of green liquid from the table.

"Do NOT touch that." Sanji said, kicking Usopp and offering Robin the drink.

"I made some fresh juice for you Robin Chwan~"

"Why thank you Sanji." Robin took the offered drink and sipped it, making a delighted sound at the minty taste.

Satisfied with her reaction Sanji turned towards Usopp and kept a mug of tea in front of him.

"You know better than to tell Nami san what to do you asshole. Besides we really need to stretch our legs a bit. That and our food supply is running out. So if you don't wanna starve till we reach the next island, you'll put on a brave face, like the 'man of the sea' you are." Usopp perked up at Sanji's statement and jumped up exclaiming-

"Of course! Usopp sama will never step down when there's an adventure awaiting him! OI LUFFY! Don't you dare leave the great Usopp sama out!" He screamed as he joined Luffy and Chopper in their celebration dance.

"Well, atleast we know that even after two years of being apart Usopp's simple mindedness will never change." Zoro said as he grabbed a bottle of Sake from the table and settled down for a nap.

"Don't fill your pitiful stomach with that just yet. Lunch is done." Sanji kicked Zoro, aiming for his face, but missed, as Zoro dodged. Grunting he put his bottle down close to him and raised his eyebrow at the Cook.

"Well where is it then Curly Brow?"

Sanji was about to retort when Luffy's stomach growled loudly and he fell over.

"Aa~h Sanji~ Food~ Im starving~!"

Sighing Sanji went towards the galley to get the lunch out.

The second all the food was laid, Luffy started digging in. Grabbing and stuffing his mouth.

"Oi Luffy! Leave us some food too!" Usopp complained grabbing as much meat he could and gulping it down before Luffy snatched it away. Chopper giggled and followed suit as Brook and Franky joined them.

"Is it ok to just leave the helm alone?" Robin asked as she held Luffy back with disembodied hands.

"Eh its fine. We're sailing straight towards the island anyway." Franky replied, tearing at a piece of meat.

Luffy watched as Sanji and Zoro argued and then started to wrestle across the lawn. He watched Usopp, Chopper and Franky cheer them on. He watched as Brook started singing 'Binks no sake'. He watched as the others joined in and laughed and sang. Luffy looked up at the sky and laughed to himself.

"Luffy? What are you doing?" Nami yelled above the racket.

"Nandemonaaaai~"

And somewhere far far away, a violet-eyed girl and a golden-haired boy smiled down on them.

* * *

A/n: AND THAT'S IT! Something familar about this Chapter? xD Ahahahaha~ This is what happened: When Bianca and Laquarde die, theyir souls dissappear. So they cease to exist. Therefore, everything that happened on that island cease to exist. Why? Because they were illusions created by them. Everything DID happen. But the existance of it has been erased from the crew's memories. Except for Luffy.

Also you can assume this happens before the Punk Hazard Arc. Since that island doesn't appear on the log pose either~

Before I leave, THANK YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH FOR READING! THIS IS MY FIRST FANFIC AND HENCE MAY NOT BE VERY GOOD, BUT I WILL KEEP WRITING AND I HOPE YOU ALL STICK WITH ME TILL THE END! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!

P.s: Nandemonai: Means nothing.

This is me, signing out.

Stay tuned for more!

Lots and lots of love~


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